


Lost

by Ladyanaconda



Series: The Smeet [2]
Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Being Lost, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Drama, Drama & Romance, Enemies to Friends, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Some Humor, Stranded, Strangers to Lovers, references to jurassic world
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-29
Updated: 2019-02-08
Packaged: 2019-07-20 05:26:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 102,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16130555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladyanaconda/pseuds/Ladyanaconda
Summary: It's been four years since the failed attempt on Ilk's life. Four years since she was confined to the Massive for her own safety.However, during a escapade from the safety of the Armada Ilk-along with the Massive's new doctor, Lena-is taken captive by the enemy. In an attempt to save his daughter, Red follows suit accompanied by Purple and a small number of Invaders.Neither party expected to get stranded in a planet where they'd have to cooperate in order to survive.Neither Red or Ilk expected to fall for the least expected people.Nobody expected Zim to arrive.





	1. The New Doctor

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, before we start, I'm going to point something out: this fic takes place four years after the end of The Smeet. Though it's not obligatory to read it beforehand, I recommend you do take a look at it if you wish to better understand certain aspects of this story. By now, Ilk herself is nine years old (the equivalent of a teenage human, approx.), so she has grown taller and wiser. I'll be updating every saturday, hopefully, if real life doesn't get in the way. 
> 
> Well, without any further ado, enjoy!

**Lost**

**Chapter 1- The New Doctor**

* * *

_The Massive. Somewhere Within Deep Space..._

Working in the _Massive_ was perhaps one of the most desired jobs in the Irken Empire.

Not only did it pay well-unless you are a service drone, of course-, but it gave anybody the chance to impress the Almighty Tallest and get on their good graces. And _that_  doesn't happen very often

Only the best of the best (and tallest of the tallest, though not more than the Almighty Tallest) were considered by the Control Brains to be assigned to the flagship of the Armada, most of those chosen were Elites from any division, though the most abundant job was either that of a navigator, a cook or a medic.

Lena was _very_ happy the Control Brains on Irk assigned her to work on the _Massive_ as the third option.

She was one of the best medical technicians, and also one of the most brilliant to ever graduate from the Academy.

Not to mention she was pretty tall too; if she stood face to face with one of the Almighty Tallest one could notice she was only about six inches shorter than them.

Her body was unique too; compared to other Irkennettes she had a thin waist and big hips, both covered in a bright aquamarine bodice which matched her blue-green eyes and a long white skirt that touched the ground. Her _PAK_ was of the white variety, showing her status as a Medical Class technician.

"Here we are, doctor Lena," the pilot of the spittle runner announced as they neared the Irken flagship. "The _Massive_ , pride and joy of the Irken Armada."

Lena's eyes widened as she stared at the colossal ship through the window. It was even bigger in person, and it was surrounded by hundreds, no, thousands of smaller ships that composed the rest of the Armada.

After landing in the hangar, Lena tentatively looked around in awe at the big amount of ships and vessels parked in there; some were taking off to join the communion of vessels outside while others landed in their place to have their tanks refilled or for the pilot to stretch his/her legs.

Then again it wasn't named the _Massive_ for nothing, right?

Lena had to snap herself out of her admiring. _Okay, now that I'm here I should report myself to the Tallest._ Where to find them…? Perhaps she should ask around. She was new here, after all, and didn't know her way around the place. She neared towards the nearest soldier. "Excuse me?"

The soldier in question, who turned out to be an Irkennette like her, instantly went rigid and saluted, waving her antenna as a greeting. "Invader Tenn, ma'am."

Lena nodded. Impeccable manners. "Where may I find the Almighty Tallest, Invader Tenn?"

"Tallest Red is… busy for the time being, but you will find Tallest Purple in the bridge. I can escort you there if you wish, ma'am."

Lena nodded again. "That's very nice of you. Lead the way."

She followed Tenn through the long corridors, passing by lots of crewmen, guards and soldiers, all of them shorter than Lena, and as such showing the respect that implied.

A while later they came to the Bridge. Like Tenn said, only Tallest Purple was there snacking on some curly fries on the Tallest's couch, his feet on top of a service drone while the navigators seemed to be in a sort of panicked frenzy.

"My Tallest, the Sobrekt have taken _Agricultia_!" one cried.

Purple looked far from alarmed, however. He looked more like annoyed. "The Sobrekt. Why must it always be the Sobrekt? How many casualties?"

"They killed all the Irkens on that planet, sir."

"Damn lizards…"

Tenn stepped forward and saluted. "My Tallest, the new doctor is here."

"Finally!"

Purple jumped off the couch and hovered down to the ground floor to take a closer look at the newcomer. Lena bowed her head and wiggled her antennae respectfully.

Like she imagined, her head reached up to the Tallest's chest. And he seemingly was impressed by _that_.

"Ah, I see you're pretty tall," Purple pointed out. "Good. What is your name?"

"Doctor Lena reporting for duty, My Tallest."

"Well, doctor Lena, welcome to the _Massive_. Tenn here will give you a tour around to make sure you don't get lost on your first day, and the rest of the medical crew in the infirmary will catch you up with how things run around here. Clear? Good, now if you'll excuse me, I have to deal with the lizard issue."

With that he returned to his seat, grabbed a doughnut and continued to complain about the Sobrekt.

She had heard the Empire and the Sobrekt had declared war on each other, but she had hoped it was only a rumor. There was a reason the Sobrekt hadn't been marked for conquest, nobody would dare start a conflict with them.

And from what she heard, they had gotten a hold of the planet used for the agriculture that fed the Empire.

Tenn brought her out of her thoughts. "Ma'am, if you'd be kind enough to follow me."

Lena blinked. "Right, lead the way."

Tenn showed her around most of the areas on the ship, particularly the cafeteria, the barracks, armory and laboratory.

"It really is bigger in person." Lena commented mid-way through the upper corridors.

Tenn nodded. "Indeed. No enemy vessel will ever dare to go up against the _Massive_ and live to tell the tale!"

"I know it's probably not my business, but how is the war against the Sobrekt going?"

The Invader's antenna lowered slightly. "Turns out they are tougher and have more resources than we anticipated. They have already taken two planets and wiped out a small portion of the Armada sent to their home planet."

"Well, they didn't earn their reputation as the 'most bloodthirsty race in the galaxy' for nothing."

They came to a grim-looking set of doors compared to the rest. Judging by the characters on it, Lena could tell what this room was before Tenn could even explain it. "These is where the Control Brains of the _Massive_ are. Access is restricted, however, only the Almighty Tallest and the specially-trained technicians are allowed in unless the Control Brains themselves ask for your presence."

" _It's not fair! I c-can't…! I won't, you can't force me!"_

" _Ilk, wait!_ "

The doors opened and young Irkenette that was almost Tenn's size (only a few inches shorter) stormed out and ran down the hallway.

In the few seconds Lena managed to see her, she noted this one had ruby red eyes and lacked a _PAK_. Lena was momentarily stunned until she recalled what _PAK_ -less smeets were.

Seconds later Tallest Red emerged too, looking very upset.

"Ilk!" he called, but by then the young Irkenette was gone. "Damn it, what am I going to do with that smeet…?"

"My Tallest, sorry to interrupt you, but now that you're present I'd like to inform you the new doctor is here."

Lena lowered her head and wiggled her antennae, but said nothing yet. Not if she was not asked.

Oddly, though, she did feel Tallest Red's gaze on her. He was looking at her with wide eyes, almost as if he had seen a ghost, but then he regained his composure and his expression became indifferent. "I see. What is your name?"

"Lena, My Tallest."

"Well, Lena, sorry that you had to witness that. If you'll excuse me…" That being said he went back inside, closing the doors shut behind him. Probably would have a word with the Control Brains.

"Okay…" Tenn said awkwardly. "Now that we've seen most of the _Massive_ , how about I show you to the medical ward so you can catch up with the staff?"

"That would be nice." Lena added quickly, still feeling strange about the way Tallest Red had looked at her. "Who was that young smeet, by the way?"

"That was Ilk, Tallest Red's daughter."

Lena blinked in surprise. "Daughter? I didn't know he was-"

"He is not. It's a long story for another time, I'm afraid."

* * *

Even though she was nine years old and almost Tenn's size, Ilk was still a smeet in many ways.

Naturally, her reaction after the meeting with the Control Brains-which was her very first time in their presence, by the way- was to lock herself in her room and build a pillow fort to hide in it.

What went so wrong, you ask?

' _Irken Ilk, in one year you shall receive a_ PAK _and attend the Academy to finish your training. On Tallest Red's insistence, and given you have already showed signs of being exceptional in numerous areas, once your basic training is done you'll be sent to Devastis to take the test to become an Elite, and then you'll be assigned to work as an Invader._

Invader.

Of all the jobs she could have been assigned to, she had to be given the one she found the less appealing as a career.

What was her father thinking? He should know better than anyone that she didn't fit for such a role. It didn't have to do with being lacking in ability or being short (she was pretty tall for her age, after all, thanks dad's genes for that), she simply didn't like the idea of _enslaving_ other species.

Yeah, you're probably thinking 'what on Irk'? What kind of Irken doesn't want to be an Invader, considering their Empire existed for the sole purpose of conquering the universe and all the races in it?

Minus the Sobrekt, those guys turned out to be _unconquerable_ if the history books were right, plus up to now they still managed to hold their own against the Armada.

She didn't really know, nobody ever told her about the status of the war, or even mentioned _anything_ related to the Sobrekt when she was around. It was getting irritating.

Anyway, back on topic, she was _different_. She didn't think of other races as inferior, she could openly start a conversation with any on a friendly manner, she could interact with them and see them as equals, but overall she valued their lives, their customs, everything about their culture.

The idea of feigning friendship and camaraderie to someone only to later stab them in the back was… _despicable_ to her. She couldn't understand how come Tenn, Larb and the others could do such a thing and move on with their consciences clear.

No, wait, _PAK_ s are supposed to remove those kind of feelings because they'd 'compromise' the mission.

Yet _another_ reason of why she could _not_ be an Invader.

Her father, however, for some reason thought otherwise.

There was a knock on the door. "Ilk, are you in there?" Speak of the digestor…

"No." Ilk lied, burying further into her 'fort'.

Sadly sometimes she forgot her dad was the Almighty Tallest, and as such he had access to _every single room_ on the ship, no matter if it had a hundred security locks. She wasn't surprised when her door opened seconds later and he came in.

"Ilk, we need to talk." he said seriously.

"If you want to talk me into accepting the Control Brain's rulings, don't waste your time."

"I'm afraid there's nothing to do about it, only to accept it." Red frowned. "Come out of there, young lady, I'm talking to you."

A part of her didn't want to, but she could not refuse an order from the Tallest, regardless if they were related or not. Ilk lifted her head from the fort, pouting.

"Why did you have to get the idea into their… their… system?" she growled. "I'm not fit for being an Invader!"

"Ilk, not again with that! You have the intelligence, skill and _height_ for the job, and I'm pretty certain you'd surpass even _Larb_!"

Wow. Being compared to Larb was considered a compliment given that he was considered to be the best Invader of his generation.

"Dad, you can't expect me to _like_ stabbing people in the back after getting attached to them and being involved in their culture."

"You're not going to _befriend_ the natives, Ilk, you'll merely pass off as one to weaken the planet's defenses for when the Armada arrives."

"You do realize that for them to trust me enough to even share such important information is to befriend them and show I can be trusted in the first place?" Ilk pointed out matter-of-factly with a roll of her eyes.

"You can do that without getting attached to the natives."

"Are you even listening to yourself, for Irk's sake?!"

"Don't talk to me in that tone, young lady!"

"Dad, please, can't you get them to put me somewhere else?" Ilk resorted to pleading. "Anywhere, I don't really care! I will happily work on Foodcourtia as a food service drone, but not an Invader, _please_!"

Her father went silent for a few moments, looking thoughtful. For a brief moment she hoped he would change his mind and grant her petition, but he only sighed. "I'm sorry, Ilk, but there's nothing I can do. Once the Control Brains make a ruling, even if I was only _partly_ responsible for it, it's _final_. With time you'll understand it."

Seeing it was futile, Ilk grunted and went back into her pillow fort.

* * *

What was he going to do with that smeet?

It was bad enough she turned out to be just as stubborn as him (maybe even more), but now she even went as far as to refuse a ruling from the Control Brains? This is bad, this is _sooo_ bad! The worst of all, she had done it right _in front of them_!

She was lucky he managed to talk them down! Their words were still buzzing in his head.

' _EVEN FOR A BIRTHED-SMEET, IT'S THE FIRST TIME SOMEONE HAS_ OPENLY _REFUSED AN ORDER COMING FROM US. I WONDER IF IT'S POSSIBLE FOR A PAKLESS IRKEN TO BE A DEFECTIVE-'_

" _She's not a defect, Sirs, I assure you…! She's just… assimilating it, yeah, she'll eventually come around!"_

' _GIVEN IT'S ONLY THE FIRST TIME AND SHE HAS YET TO RECEIVE A_ PAK _, WE'LL LET IT SLIP THIS ONCE. BUT IF HER BEHAVIOR IS NOT CORRECTED SHE'LL HAVE TO BE… PUT DOWN.'_

Put down…

How dare they? How dare they call his little Ilk a _defective_? How dare they consider putting her down? She had a different way to see things, that's right, but she was NOT a defective. How's that even possible without a _PAK_ , let alone a faulty one?

No, it was merely a phase. She'd eventually realize that being an Invader was the right job for her. She had his intellect, a good height and she was natural when it came to communicating with other species. She would blend in perfectly, and she'd be smart enough to get information out of the natives.

If only Ilk could see it this way.

"Let me guess, judging by your face the talk with the Control Brains didn't go smoothly, am I right?"

Red sighed and sat next to his co-Tallest, grabbing a doughnut to calm his nerves a bit. "She said no in _front of them_ and just stormed out. Hopefully I managed to calm them down, but they think Ilk is a _D_."

Purple spat his soda unto one of the passing by pilots. "What? _Our_ Ilk, a _D_?"

"Exactly! They can't say that if she doesn't have her _PAK_ yet!"

"Well, how did she react to her future assignment?"

"Uh… she's still assimilating it, she'll come around eventually."

Purple rolled his eyes. "I told you she would be better at engineering."

"I just don't understand what's wrong with her," Red sighed. "I mean, everybody aspires to be an Invader, and she has the skills and height to succeed. Why can't she see that? Besides, if the Control Brains continue to think she's a D…" he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Chill out, She's a smart smeet. Certainly she will get over the phase and all that," Purple took a slurp from his soft drink again. Irk, reassuring somebody was certainly tiring. "By the way, did you meet the new doc?"

Oh, right. "Yeah, I encountered her up there."

"She's quite tall, did you notice? Not as tall as us, of course, but taller than the average. I bet she's very good at her job."

Red sighed. "Yeah…"

It wasn't only about the height, though.

When he first saw her face he almost had a squeedly-smooch attack. For one second he almost thought Miyuki was standing in front of him, but in a shorter body and the gentle blue colors replaced by white and aquagreen. Then the bitter truth came crashing down and he recalled this wasn't her, but another irkenette.

He had to admit, though, she _was_ pretty good looking.

Red shook the thought out of his head and changed the topic. "Any word about the Sobrekt?"

"Oh, right. They took over Agricultia and anihilated all the ships we sent to Sobr."

Red nearly choked unto the doughnut he was eating, and glared at Purple. "What?! Don't you think it would have been wise to start with THAT?!"

Purple simply shrugged. "Ilk is more important."

Well, who was he to argue against _that_ logic?

The whole issue with the Sobrekt _was_ worrying, however. It had been four years since the war against them started and they hadn't been able to deal a devastating blow.

The Sobrekt turned out to be evenly matched against the Irkens in warfare. No matter if a hundred Irken ships managed to destroy a fleet, two hundred Sobrekt vessels could do the same with _three_ Irken fleets, as Red learned the first time he ordered a direct attack out of spite for what they had done to Ilk.

Like, sending one of the freaking monsters into the _Massive_ for their dumb flower was one thing, but having it tear a _leg_ from his daughter was too much!

The perplexing thing was that Ilk's leg had… grown back. Muscle, bone and everything, as if it had never been torn in the first place.

Afterwards he never let Ilk out of his sight, or even off the _Massive,_ without a escort. She was always surrounded by a dozen of the best Elites to ensure she would not be hurt again, and he had taken an additional measure even if she ever managed to get away from them.

But since she didn't remember what had transpired and he let her think the whole experience had been a nightmare, she didn't understand _why_ he was taking all of these security measures. Nobody was allowed to talk to her about it either.

Speaking of which, perhaps it would be best if he told the new doctor about that rule.

* * *

Lena found herself a bit overwhelmed on her first day.

Many service drones needed a little adjustments or fixing on their PAKs, and many soldiers also required that she run a diagnostic to make sure theirs ran smoothly. As stressing as it could get, however, Lena tended to her patients efficiently in a professional manner.

Her height helped considerably. As soon as she arrived the head doctor was quick to explain to her how things worked aboard the _Massive_ , the usual patients and who had certain reactions to vaccines, PAK software, etcetera. When she asked something she was answered too swiftly and with details, which helped her out throughout the day.

In fact, it went so well she was surprised when the Tallest asked for her presence. Had she offended them somehow?

Lena made her way back to the bridge (without getting lost, thank Irk), where both Tallest were resting on their couch snacking. She delicately made her way towards them, greeting them respectfully. "You asked to see me, My Tallest?"

There it was again! The same sensation from when he first looked at her! Was something wrong with his _PAK_? Red made a mental note to have it checked later, for now he kept his composure. "As a matter of fact, we did. First of all we heard you've been doing a good job, keep it up."

"T-thank you, My Tallest."

"Secondly, I suppose you've already seen my daughter Ilk, right?"

"Affirmative, sir."

"Since you're new, we thought we should inform you of certain rules regarding Ilkie." Purple explained.

Red took over from there again. "Rule number one, Ilk is not allowed to leave the _Massive_ without a escort under any circumstances. Rule number two: you are not to mention the Sobrekt or anything related to them, the current war included, within at least 10 meters from her. Rule number three: should anybody break these two rules, you must inform me. Are we clear?"

Lena thought the one about the Sobrekt was a bit too exaggerate, but she guessed the Tallest must have his reasons for it. "Crystal clear, My Tallest."

"Good, now get back to work."

As Lena waved her antennae and walked away, Purple noticed the way his partner stared at her as she left. "Well, well, looks like you have an interest in the newbie."

"I don't, I am merely examining her height. Like you said, she is taller than most Irkens. Think she'll eventually…"

"Nah. From what I read in her records, her growth spurt stopped a year ago."

Red frowned. "Wait, when did you obtain her record and didn't tell me about it?"

"Before she arrived. You were so busy dealing with Ilk and the Control Brains I decided not to bother you."

"Well, thank you very much."

Ignoring the sarcasm, Purple gave his piece of chiscak a bite. "You're welcome."


	2. Under Pressure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, like promised, saturday update! Things will start getting somewhat tense from this point on, but I made quite a surprise reference up ahead that will give you a hint as to who the Sobrekt are partly inspired on.
> 
> Without further ado, enjoy!

 

_The Massive. Somewhere in Deep Space..._

Ilk was bored.

VERY bored.

One may think it must be very entertaining to travel around space with the Irken Armada conquering planets, but that's a half truth. It's only fun when you actually have a role and do something.

Ilk had neither. She was the daughter of Almighty Tallest Red and she had many of his quirks, that's right, but by Irken standards she was still ripe and lacked the proper training to actually take part in battle… and daddy dearest wouldn't allow her to take part in battle even if she were.

Besides she never really got to visit the conquered planets, and whenever she did she was always accompanied by a dozen Elites who attacked whoever came 8 inches from her or looked at her funny. What a _good_ impression.

She knew dad and uncle Pur had enemies, but this was ridiculous! She couldn't even go use the _restroom_ alone when escorted.

It wasn't always like this. When she was younger things were slightly different. Her father would take her to _Vacatio_ , _Foodcourtia_ and other interesting places, only the two of them(okay, uncle Pur sometimes tagged along) having fun and spending time with each other.

At some point when she was five, however, _something_ happened that changed everything.

She didn't know _what_ , though. She couldn't remember anything bad occurring at that time, and nobody would tell her anything. Sometimes she even had the feeling the others knew what had transpired and kept it a secret from her, but she tried to dismiss it.

The point is everything changed afterwards.

Dad sat down with her to have a talk, told her about all the enemies the Empire had and would probably try to hurt her to get to him. He said that for her own safety she would always be escorted and they wouldn't be able to go out of the _Massive_ as often as before.

She understood at first, but as time went on she was allowed to go out less and less, until eventually she found herself confined. She was still trained to fight and taught how to defend herself, but in her opinion what was the point if she wouldn't get to actually use those skills?

Plus at times her father had rushed into her room in the middle of the night and awakened her, looking scared out of his wits only to sigh in relief when he saw her in bed, but wouldn't give her a straight answer as to what he was doing there.

Ilk yelped in pain when she cut her finger with her book's page. But instead of putting something on the cut to stop the bleeding, she merely stared it, knowing what would happen next.

Five seconds later the tiny wound closed by itself, stopping the bleeding though the rivulet of pink was still there.

It was weird. _This_ wasn't supposed to happen until she got her _PAK_. Then again, given she wasn't like everybody else in that manner perhaps she had her own quirks.

Her stomach growled. Oh, right, she hadn't eaten anything since yesterday, and believe it or not being mad at dad could be tiring.

Ilk left her room and went to the cafeteria, where many crewmembers were having their lunch break. Most waved amiably at her, and she returned the greeting silently but with a smile of her own.

She got a good few slices of pizza, some trimisu and went to her usual table, where Bob was having his ten minute break and Koodge was nibbling on a sandwich.

She had never taken height into account when it came to who she associated with.

"So, how did it go with the Control Brains?" Bob inquired.

"Haven't you heard? Usually those kinds of things spread fast around here." Was Ilk's response.

"Well, we _did_ hear they will eventually make you an Invader. Congrats on that."

"I'm not sure if I want to be one. I mean, having to interact with the natives…"

"Yeah, I know, they can be disgusting." Skoodge added. His experience on Blorch hadn't been… nice.

She didn't mean it that way. "Actually, I'm crossed dad was the one who put the idea in their… brains. I mean, why couldn't he just let them run the examination to see where I would fit thingy?"

"Well, he's always saying you'd be a wonderful Invader." Bob said.

"Besides, now that the Tallest actually are considering _Earth_ to mark for conquest maybe they want to send someone else."

"Zim is already there, isn't he?" Ilk said. "They could make his mission official."

"Are you kidding? Skoodge will grow taller before Zim actually succeeds."

Skoodge whimpered. "I'm right next to you."

Ilk noticed a pretty tall Irkenette(not as tall as dad and uncle) with greenish blue eyes elegantly walking into the cafeteria. Was she new? She had never seen her before around here. "Who is that?"

Skoodge turned to the irkenette. "Oh, that's Lena, the new doctor. She's really tall and very good at what she does."

"Plus she's nice even to short Irkens like us…" Bob added quickly.

Nice to short Irkens? That doesn't happen very often.

Now that she recalled, she saw her yesterday briefly after storming out of the Control Brains' chamber. She guessed she didn't cause a good impression because of that.

When Lena started looking around for a table to seat, Ilk waved up her arm. "Hey, over here!"

Lena's antenna twitched as she glanced up at Ilk. "Oh, hi!" she greeted as she walked closer, holding her own tray. "You're Ilk, right?"

Ilk nodded eagerly. "Yes. How about you, I don't think we've been properly introduced."

"I'm doctor Lena, nice to meet you."

Ilk shifted a little to the side to give her some space to sit. "Are you new?"

"You could say so. I arrived just yesterday."

"That's curious. From what I've heard you already seem to have quite the reputation."

Lena blushed. "Well, I just do my job," she noted Bob was rubbing his back with a painful expression. "How's your spine, Bob?"

"I think I'll be the hunchback of Irk very soon..." Bob muttered.

"Nonsense! You just need to rest for a few days and you'll be like new in no time. I'll be sure to mention it to the Tallest."

Ilk stared at Lena in surprise; wow, she _was_ nice to shorter Irkens.

"Ah, Ilk, there you are!" Larb approached their table looking excited. "Tallest Red asked me to start your pre-Invader training. I'll meet you in the combat room in ten minutes, okay? See ya!" With that he walked away, almost skipping happily.

"Lucky him." Skoodge muttered and took a bite of his sandwich. It was no wonder why the Tallest had chosen Larb to be Ilk's tutor.

Ilk let her head fall unto the table with a groan.

"Is something wrong?" Lena asked her.

"Oh, I'm fine. If you don't take into account that dad had the _wonderful_ idea that I'd be a _wonderful_ Invader even though I've told him I don't want to be one so many times I lost count." Ilk responded, exasperated. "Well, I think I better go. Larb is a bit too picky when it comes to time," she smiled at the doctor. "It was nice to meet you, Lena. Guess I'll see you around."

Ilk left her seat and sulked away, muttering something about her father.

* * *

Despite her claims that she wasn't fit to be an Invader, her efficiency in all the areas required was, to put it simply, good.

Too good.

Even if Ilk tried to do something wrong on purpose (she even tried to a few times), it was almost as if she was _unable_ to. Like a subconscious tic of doing things well even when she didn't want to.

Naturally this not only strengthened dad's belief that she would make an excellent Invader, but many of the others who oversaw her training sessions started to share that mentality. Even _uncle Pur_ commented during dinner that perhaps being an Invader _was_ her calling after all.

So thanks for that, Uncle Pur!

Sometimes dad went to oversee her training personally, and he didn't need to correct her much. He usually only watched proudly as she succeeded again and again.

Soon the rest of the Invaders were included in her lessons (Skoodge was excluded for being too short, to her dismay) and were teaching her different aspects of infiltration, analyzing and combat.

The only ones she could open up to were Bob, Skoodge and, most recently, doctor Lena.

"Its only a scratch, dad, really." Ilk said, covering her cheek with a hand.

"Still, it should be checked," Red stated matter-of-factly as he carried Ilk in his arms to the infirmary. "First rule as an Invader: never leave a wound for 'later', who knows what kind of bacteria reside there."

By then Ilk found it was pointless to try and convince him she simply didn't _want_ to be an Invader, so she merely sighed. Red felt a great deal of relief; it seemed that spending time with Larb and the others had finally convinced her.

As always the first person he saw when he went in was doctor Lena, who momentarily interrupted her task of checking an Elite's _PAK_ to greet him, her example soon followed by the other doctors and patients alike. "My Tallest."

"Ilk has a cut on her cheek, somebody take a look at it." Red ordered

"It's only a scratch." Ilk insisted.

Lena instantly ushered the Elite aside-contrary to merely pushing him off the medical table- away so Red could place Ilk on top of hers. "Ilk, I need you to uncover the wound."

With a sigh, Ilk removed her hand from her left cheek. There was a small slice mark with rivulets of pink blood running down her face, accidental courtesy of Tenn during the practice with the long spear.

"It's not very deep, My Tallest, a bit of healing solution will do." Lena said after taking a look at the cut.

Red nodded. "Good."

A guard stepped in and saluted. "My Tallest, Tallest Purple requests your presence at the bridge."

Red sighed. Seriously, Purple couldn't handle things by himself for five minutes? He glanced at Lena. "Think you could take care of Ilk?"

Lena nodded. "Of course, My Tallest."

"Ilk, once you are better go back to training, okay?"

Ilk nodded. "Okay, dad."

Lena subtly noticed how Tallest Red offered his daughter a gentle smile, a small head rub and then left. She never imagined she'd ever see any of her leaders offering such a thing to anyone other than each other, yet both constantly did to this smeet.

Lena found Red's smile quite… cute. She kept this thought to herself, of course.

Ilk was very fortunate.

"Okay, Ilk, I'll just put some solution on your cut…"

Ilk sighed, "it won't be necessary."

"It might seem small, but you don't have a _PAK_ yet and it might-"

"I don't mean it because of that."

Lena returned to Ilk's side to find her cut was… gone. "What…?" She leaned in closer and still failed to find the injury. It was almost as if it hadn't been there, but the dried pink blood said otherwise.

"It's… gone?" Lena whispered in awe.

"Told ya," Ilk said. "It's a sort of… Ability I seem to have."

"But how can that be if you don't have a _PAK_ yet?"

"I wish I knew. Just a favour, don't tell daddy or he'll freak out."

Lena smiled. "Tell him what? The healing solution merely did its job."

She winked, to which Ilk giggled. "So you _are_ training to become an Invader?"

The smile disappeared as the smeet looked down. "Well, considering nothing I say will make dad change his mind I guess I have no choice but to… resign." Ilk shivered at the thought. "Besides, the Control Brains can't be overruled, even the Tallest have to obey, so even if dad listened he can't do anything.."

Lena smiled sympathetically. "Surely he didn't have any bad intentions, he just wants what he thinks is best for you."

"I know, but it's frustrating to tell him something that goes through one antennae and goes out through the other!"

Lena wished she could help, but she had been assigned to work as a medic, not a family therapist.

* * *

Red _hated_ the Sobrekt.

He really _hated_ their scaly asses.

The reason? There were lots of reasons for that, including what they had done to Ilk, but the most recent adding to the pile involved _Foodcourtia_ having been taken by them. _Foodcourtia!_

With this it was already five planets taken. The Sobrekt hadn't changed anything in those worlds, they merely wanted to rub in the Irken Empire's face the fact _they_ could take them and get away with it, and not the other way around.

He was surprised they hadn't sent any heads. _Yet._

Unfortunately this also meant he wouldn't be able to take Ilk to _Foodcourtia_ ; he had _promised_ her he would, it was the few times they could spend time together since the war started.

"Damn it, why couldn't they have taken any other planet?" Red muttered, snaking over his third bag of popcorn. "They could have taken _Blorch_ , _Callnowia_ , the _Storage planet_ , but no! They _had_ to take _Foodcourtia_!"

"Tell _me_!" Purple whined glancing into an empty bag of doughnuts. "Where are we going to restock our snacks now?!"

"It's not about that… not completely! I promised Ilk we'd go there!"

"Oh…" Purple took a small sip of soda. "Well, you could try to wear disguises. From what I hear, they still let anyone in there as long as they're not Irkens."

"In case you forgot, the last Irken that wore a disguise near the Sobrekt lost his head and his _PAK_."

"Don't remind me, I just had doughnuts!"

Red glanced at one of the pilots. "Any word from the Planet-Jackers yet?" As a desperate measure, he and Purple had contacted the Planet Jackers and asked if they were willing to throw Sobr, the Sobrekt homeworld, into their dying sun.

A few clicks on the monitor buttons later: "They apologize, but they are not willing to risk their… heads. Apparently the Sobrekt sent them the head of an explorer as a warning to leave Sobr alone."

See? Not even the Planet-Jackers had the guts to face the lizards. Stupid Sobrekt and their stupid beheadings!

Why hadn't they thought of that before?

Okay, now to think of something to tell to Ilk about why they wouldn't be able to go to _Foodcourtia_ without telling her about the war.

Speak of the digestor, here she came. "Hey, dad, will you take long? The flight to Foodcourtia usually takes a while…"

Red turned to Purple for help, but his co-Tallest only gave him a look that read ' _sorry, pal, you're on your own on this one_ '. Oh, he would _so_ get back at him for this!

"Sweetie, I'm afraid there's been a… complication," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "It appears _Foodcourtia_ is having a… food shortage."

Purple snorted.

"A food shortage on _Foodcourtia_?" Ilk repeated.

He knew she didn't believe him; he wouldn't believe it himself either if somebody had told him such thing. Damn it, bad start, but it was too late to change it now.

"Y-Yeah. The _Foodening_ just ended and naturally most restaurants are out of stock." He gave her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Ilk. I'll make it up to you, okay?"

Ilk was silent for a few moments, but he saw the look in her eyes. She wasn't merely disappointed, she _knew_ he was lying and was aware he was hiding something (sometimes he hated having given her his smarts).

But contrary to expectations she didn't snap at him, wail, complain or protest.

"That's okay, dad, I understand." she said inscrutably before turning around on her heels and leaving the bridge.

Red _hated_ to do this to her. Even more than the Sobrekt, who were to blame for this in the first place.

But he had to think of Ilk's safety before anything else.

He was pretty certain she wouldn't talk to him in a while, but at least she was safe.

* * *

He had done it _again_.

Ilk stomped down the corridors of the _Massive_ , cursing in Irken and calling dad whatever bad words she could think of. Her vocabulary was limited, but she knew one or two insults from earthen movies, and she was directing them at her father.

He did it _again_.

It's bad enough he doesn't let Ilk out of the _Massive_ alone, but cancelling the one activity they were supposed to do together after days of almost having no time for each other was the last straw.

The worst: he didn't even tell her why! He just made up a pathetic, last-minute lie about why they couldn't go instead of simply telling her the actual reason. She hated that he kept her in the dark like she were still a smeet.

Did it have to do with the Sobrekt? She had heard they were at war with them, but was it _that_ serious?

Normally she would have merely let it slip, lock herself in her bedroom and give dad the silent treatment for the remainder of the day, but she was already upset from the pre-Invader training (which she hated), having been stuck in the _Massive_ without going out for about two months (the longest she bore had been three months when she was eight) and now dad's feeble attempt at lying finally did it.

She was suffocating. She needed to go out.

In the last moment Ilk changed her destination and went straight for the hangar. There were lots of ships there, surely they wouldn't mind if she borrowed one, would they? Besides, the Armada had lots of spacecraft to spare.

Ilk picked an Spittle Runner a few feet away. She made sure nobody saw her as she hopped in, lowered the window and warily took off. If you're wondering how come she can drive a spaceship being so young, she could thank uncle Pur for that. He taught her how to drive one when she turned seven, and it was worth it even though dad grounded them _both_ with no doughnuts for the rest of the week .

To Ilk's relief, nobody paid any attention to her spittle runner as she flew out of the hangar and started heading away from the _Massive_ -was it her imagination or did it look less and less big with each passing year?-and a bit further unto space.

She'd fly for a few minutes, _then_ go back inside and lock herself in her room.

It felt so good to be out of those corridors and away from Larb, who was becoming annoyingly clingy to her in an attempt to get in the Tallest's good graces. Please, he was already out on a pedestal by dad and uncle that Ilk thought it was practically impossible for them to like him even more.

Ilk's antennae twitched when she heard a familiar voice. "Ilk, what do you think you're doing?"

* * *

_Unknown Vessel. Space nearby the Irken Armada..._

"How long have we been following them around? I think I already got blisters from being sitting for so many hours!"

The crocodilian Sobrekt glared at the orange, striped Kryvtor with the big goggles at in the pilot's seat. "Quit whining. Don't go after the azelle, let the azelle come to you."

"Captain, with all due respect, we _chase_ after the Azelle," another Kryvtor, this one a gray violet with darker back and lighter belly, stated. "We're Kryvtors."

"You know what I mean!" Captain growled in exasperation. This is why he wasn't fond of working with Kryvtors, they were too impatient and were always itching to strike as soon as possible instead of waiting for prey to come closer.

However, General Swift _promised_ him they were of the best teams they had, so he guessed he'd have to wait before actually judging.

They had been following the Irken Armada for a while now. The crew's ship, a small Sobrekt cruiser they called the _Ibris,_ was currently cloaked and moving at a slow pace, only fast enough to keep with the _Massive_.

Their orders were simple: capture the irken-child and bring her to Sobr.

Of course, sending another Indokuro into the _Massive_ was out of the question. The Irkens probably strengthened their securty system since the last… visit, plus the irken-child had rarely left the flagship at all, which made things harder.

So Captain instead decided to wait.

"At this rate I think we'll go through another skin molt." The pilot muttered.

"Don't remind me," the violet kryvtor called out further into the _Ibris_. "Blue, Echo, how are you doing back there?"

A female kryvtor-slightly smaller, more curved waist and lacking any sort of markings or feather crests-came forward a few seconds later. "Blue's trying to deal with with _Fury_."

" _Fury_ must be bored out of his scales, I guess." Captain commented, twitching his tail.

"He's an Indokuro, sire. They weren't bred to stay still in one place for long."

The pilot groaned, bristling his sticking out yellow feathers, and turned to the violet Kryvtor. "Anything yet, Foxtrot?"

Foxtrot started pressing keys on the ship's computer, but instead of sighing in disappointment he leaned in closer. "We got a message from the contact."

Captain, the pilot and the female named Echo perked up. "What does it say?" Captain asked.

"The irken-child has left the _Massive_ in a spittle runner. Alone, with no escorts."

"Finally!" the pilot lifted p his arms in relief.

Echo narrowed her eyes and stepped closer to the glass panel. She spotted a tiny bit of pink flying away from the Armada by itself. "Sire, I think it's that one."

Captain smirked. What did he tell you? Patience. "Masouri, follow it and reel it in."

Masouri, the pilot, saluted. "My pleasure!"

The _Ibris_ followed the lone Irken ship farther away.

* * *

 

**Fanart I made for Captain and the kryvtors!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, my, who hasn't gone through that? Not wanting to work as something but feeling pressure from close people around you? I wouldn't like to be in Ilk's shoes, especially when you end up doing something rash out of spite that inadvertently puts you in danger.
> 
> Next chapter: Ilk and her companion get captured, but their captors-and in turn themselves- are taken off-guard by a life-threatening event.
> 
> Cookie to whoever spotted the reference! XD.


	3. The Sobrekt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone! I know I said I'd update on saturdays, but this week I won't be available that day for... personal reasons, so I decided to update a little bit before time. Things will start getting intense from this point on.

_Spittle Runner. Deep Space._

If there was something Lena would trust with her life, it was her instinct.

It was thanks to it that she had come so far. Some had wondered if she was insane for following mere instinctive thoughts instead of the _PAK_ 's logical reasoning, only to watch in astonishment as her 'hunch' turned out to be true.

It was thanks to the feeling in her squeedly-spooch that she made her way to the hangar in time to see Ilk sneaking into one of the Spittle Runners. She barely managed to sneak inside as she took off; wow, for a smeet Ilk surely had a good hang of spacecraft driving.

Lena's panic started when Ilk drove away from the safety of the Armada and into space. What was she thinking? If they were spotted by an enemy vessel they wouldn't hesitate to either bring them down or capture them.

Which is why she decided to step forward with crossed arms and a serious expression. "Ilk, what do you think you're doing?"

Ilk jumped in surprise, momentarily making the ship tremble in the process, and turned to her. "L-Lena? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same thing, Ilk." Lena responded in a serious tone.

"Well, I was just… I'm only…"

"You stole a Spittle Runner and now endanger yourself by flying away from the Armada."

Seeing she had been caught, Ilk sighed. "I just… I just needed to get away from it all, okay?" she leaned against the pilot's seat. "From dad and his secrets, from Larb trying to stick to me all the time, from having to train to be an Invader when I don't want to be one…!"

Lena's frown softened, but it didn't disappear. "Ilk, I understand how you feel, but what does _this_ achieve?" she gestured to their surroundings in the ship.

"Probably a whole week worth of grounding…"

Well, at least she _did_ understand that actions had consequences. "You do realize I have an obligation to report this to the Tallest, don't you?"

Oh, right, the famous rules. "That's okay. I wouldn't like dad and uncle Pur to throw you out of the airlock when you're very nice." Ilk stepped of the pilot's seat to allow Lena to sit in it. She dialed some of the buttons, and a few seconds later the bridge of the _Massive_ appeared on the monitor.

" _What on Irk…?_ " Red looked surprised; clearly he hadn't been expecting this. " _Doctor Lena? Ilk?! What is the meaning of this, why are you two on a Spittle Runner?!_ "

"My Tallest, I'm sorry to inform you I caught Ilk here stealing one." Lena explained, going straight to the point.

She felt partly bad for Ilk when Tallest Red glared at her; it wasn't like those glares he gave to drones or 'inferior' Irkens, it was more like the typical glare a father gave to his misbehaving child. " _You and I are going to have a_ long _talk, young lady_."

"I know." Ilk said, her antenna dropping.

" _Now you've really done it, Ilk_." Purple commented.

" _You too_."

" _Why me?!_ "

Red crossed his arms and asked matter-of-factly. " _Who taught her how to fly that thing?_ "

Purple merely took a sip from his soda.

With his point made clear, Red's attention shifted to Lena again. " _Come back to the_ Massive _immediately_."

"Yes, My Tal-"

She hadn't even finished the sentence when suddenly something struck the Spittle Runner, sending Ilk backwards and Lena off the pilot's seat, setting off the alarm.

" _What happened_?!" Red asked.

"I don't know, My Tallest…!" Another violent jerk. Lena managed to catch Ilk in mid-air before she got hurt.

" _Somebody track their location-_!" Purple's order was cut off as suddenly the transmission was abruptly ended.

When the jerking finally stopped, something cut through the Spittle Runner's surface above. A long, bluish plasma blade sliced a big, perfect circle on the ceiling, then a pair of sharp claws lifted the 'lid'.

Lena realized what was happening before Ilk could recover from the fright, and pulled the smeet closer as her _PAK_ -legs extended out and she got ready to fight. It wasn't her specialty, but she would defend her Tallest's child with her life if necessary.

Her bravado almost vanished when a Sobrekt slid through the hole and landed a few meters away. He looked at her with slit pupils and frowned.

"I thought your contact said she would be alone!" he said, looking up at the entryway.

"That's what he said!" somebody replied.

The Sobrekt muttered something under his breath and looked at Lena. "Look, lady, I'm in a bit of a hurry, so I'll be brief: hand over the smeet and we'll let you go free."

Lena narrowed her eyes. "If you want her, you'll have to go through me." She hissed.

It happened too quicky. One of her _PAK_ -legs swiftly went in for the Sobrekt's abdomen, but he merely sidestepped, grabbed the leg and jerked her closer in a pull with such strength she couldn't resist. He grabbed her by the throat, causing the _PAK_ -legs to retreat, but Lena's grip on the frightened smeet never wavered.

The Sobrekt examined them for a few seconds before he looked up. "Echo, do we have space for one more?"

"One more?" a feminine voice asked.

"Yes or no will suffice, we don't have time to argue!"

"Yes!"

The last thing Lena felt was Ilk being torn out of her protective hold, then darkness…

* * *

Captain had seen lots of things, but _this_ was interesting.

The female they captured along their target had an unusual height for an Irken, which meant she probably had a high rank in the Armada, and the way she held the Irken-child made him wonder if she was her mother. No, it couldn't be, as far as he knew Irken-children were not employed as soldiers.

Which raised even more questions: why was _this_ Irken-child in the Irken Armada's flagship then?

"Let go off me!" the Irken-child cried out, wiggling in Captain's hold as he returned to the _Ibris_ through the same hole, while carrying the unconscious Irkenette on his shoulder.

"Ha, we did it!" Masouri cheered, already holding a bottle of grootbeer. "Who wants a toast?"

"I'll have one." Foxtrot lifted a cardboar vase.

"This mision isn't over yet until we're back on Sobr and hand her over to the _Shuryo_ ," Captain reminded them. "Besides, now we have an... extra guest."

The Irken-child continued to wiggle in a feeble attempt to free herself. "Wait until my dad finds out about this! He's going to blow you all up!"

"How about we save the discussion for later?" Echo said with a roll of her eyes. "They contacted the _Massive_ before we interrupted the transmission. If we stay for long the Armada _will_ blow us up."

Captain nodded and looked at Masouri. "Get us out of here."

"On it, Captain!" Masouri pressed some buttons and pulled a few levers, releasing the now-empty Spittle Runner into space, activating the ship's camouflage and then flying the ship away to prepare the hyperdrive.

"So what do we do with _her_?" Foxtrot inquired, pointing a clawed finger at the tall Irkenette.

"We take her along for the time being. The Shuryo will decide what to do with her," Captain looked at the Irken-child. "You, on the other hand… We have big plans for you." He called out. "Blue, come here!"

The Kryvtor in question walked into the ship's bridge. His scales were a silvery shade of grayish blue with a metallic blue stripe with white edges running horizontally down his eye down to the tip of his tail. His feather crest was an icy azure as well.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Take our… guest to her 'suite', will you?" Captain stated.

"What about the other one?" Blue pointed out.

"I'll deal with the tall one, you take care of the Package."

Blue glanced at the Irken-child curiously before nodding. "Aye, Captain."

Ilk had _never_ been so frightened in her entire life.

She knew little about the Sobrekt other than whatever article she managed to get her hands on, but she knew enough to realize she and Lena were in danger.

Blue was almost as tall as her father, and currently he was dragging her into the ship by the arm despite her attempts at somehow slipping it from his grip. "Let go of me!"

"Be careful, miss, you _don't_ want me to use my claws." Blue said with strange politeness. What? Just because she was a prisoner didn't mean he had to be rude, right?

"What is that big croc going to do to Lena?!"

Blue blinked at the unfamiliar term, but decided to save the question of what a 'croc' was for later. "Your companion will not be harmed, if that's what worries you. Captain will just make sure she cannot use her _PAK_ ," he noticed Ilk going pale. "They won't remove it, if that's what worries you. Foxtrot will run a small virus that will prevent her from accessing the tools, other than that it will function normally."

"What do you want with me?!"

Blue looked at her again. So she _didn't_ know… This would make things a little more difficult, it would be futile to interrogate her. Oh, well, as long as they got what they came for.

As they were going through one of the corridors and passing by what seemed to be a sort of cage, a long, clawed arm swiftly stuck through the bars and reached out for Ilk; Blue managed to pull her back just in time.

" _Fury_ , don't do that!" he snapped at the Indokuro inside. "In half an hour we'll get home, okay?"

 _Fury_ snorted and went back to sulking on the back of his cage, banging the bars with his long whip-like tail.

"Sorry about that, Indokuros hate cages." Blue apologized, but there was no reply. He looked down at Ilk and noticed she was frozen, staring at _Fury_ with wide eyes and dropped antenna. "Miss?"

Ilk didn't hear anything he said. The mere sight of the beast, Blue called it an Indokuro, brought back memories of those nights as a smeet; the times she'd wake up screaming, kicking at her covers in an attempt to scare away the Shadow that haunted her dreams, wailing her squeedly-spooch out until her father came into her room and held her close, saying it was just a nightmare.

_I'm scared, daddy... Can I... Can I sleep with you tonight?_

She remained frozen as Blue had to carry her the rest of the way to the cell blocks, gently placed her inside one and placed a thin but warm blanket on top of her before stepping out and activating the cell's forcefield to block the only way out.

As soon as she had something she could hide in, Ilk buried herself underneath the blanket and started to sob.

* * *

_The Massive._

Both Tallest almost had a squeedly-spooch attack when the transmission was cut off out of sudden.

They immediately sent two dozen ships to retrieve the Spittle Runner, but by the time they retrieved it had been too late.

It was empty.

The engineer that examined it noted the hole on the superior part of the Runner had been cut with plasma blades, and the dents on the sides coincided with the lockholding claws used by certain spacecraft to hold smaller ships while the crew assaulted it.

What species is known for its laser induced plasma tools and space-pirating habits?

"I'M BLOWING UP THEIR SCALY ASSES IN TWO!"

The pilots flinched when Bob was thrown against the wall without any sort of consideration (which scattered lots of nachos and doughnuts around) by Tallest Red, and Skoodge was next. Purple watched as his co-Tallest vented off his frustration with whoever was unfortunate enough to be in front of him.

Okay, that was the twelfth. Maybe now would be a good time to get him to calm down. "H-Hey, Red, it's okay… Calm down-"

Bad idea. "MY DAUGHTER WAS TAKEN BY THOSE OVERGROWN, PEA-BRAINED, COLD-BLOODED REPTILES AND YOU TELL ME TO CALM DOWN?!"

"Well, you won't achieve anything by just throwing random pilots against the wall," Purple pointed out. "Let's calm down and think what to do. The newbie doctor is with her anyhow, she won't let anything happen to her," he added quickly. "She better not."

Right. Lena. Yes, she'd make sure Ilk was safe.

And he hated to admit it, but Purple was right. Yelling random insults and threats wasn't going to help Ilk, he had to keep his head cool. First he'd save Ilk and Lena (why was he so worried about her too, now that he think of it?), _then_ he'd blow Sobr into tiny million bits.

"Should we set course for Sobr, My Tallest?" one of the pilots asked.

"I don't think they'd take her there," Larb commented. And being _Larb_ , his word was taken into account by the Tallest. "If they're such tactical geniuses they wouldn't risk their homeworld knowing we'd go after them. Even if they did, surely they must have a counter measure if we appear at Sobr."

"One of the planets they conquered is a research station, maybe they took her there?" Tenn pointed out. "I mean, whatever they want with her must have to do with what happened to the Moondrop flower."

Frankly they still couldn't believe the Sobrekt made such a ruckus over a stupid plant! Sure, the Irkens had stolen it, withered it and didn't even bother to give it back, but it had been for a good cause; it was thanks to it that Ilk was still around for them to worry about.

"Actually, I have a better idea as to figure out where they took her." Red said. He'd have to reveal his little secret, but he'd worry about that later. He ushered some technicians away from the nearest console and started sending some commands through the buttons.

A few seconds later a map of the universe appeared on the monitor, and a tiny, moving red spot was beeping just a few space kilometers away from their location before turning pale white.

Tenn blinked. "Is that what I think it is?"

Red nodded. "Yes."

"You put a _tracker_ on Ilk?" Purple asked before anyone else could get ahead. "That's a bit exaggerate, don't you think?"

"I did it because I love her! And as you can see, thanks to this we'll know where the Sobrekt are taking her as soon as their ship leaves hyper-space."

"But really, a _tracker_?"

Skoodge pointed at the monitor. "Look!"

The tracker's signal had turned red again and appeared a good distance away from their position. However, that area of the map was completely blank; it was unexplored territory, at least for the Irkens.

Then the signal simply disappeared.

"That's weird," Skoodge pointed out. "Why did it just… vanish? You don't think…?"

Red didn't allow him to finish the sentence. "Prepare a ship. I'm going to save my daughter personally."

"I'm in!" Larb announced.

"Me too!" Tenn followed.

Skoodge and Stink joined in, the former because he really wanted to help save Ilk and the latter because he didn't want Larb to take all the credit again.

"Oh, no, if you think you'll leave me hanging here by myself you're wrong. I'm going to save my niece too! Meanwhile…" Purple looked around and pointed at the tallest pilot. "You are in charge."

Said pilot saluted.

Red was unimpressed, "If you want to come hurry up. I'm leaving in _five minutes_." That being said, he was off down the hall to don his battle armor.

He would save Ilk. And Lena too now that he was on it.

* * *

_The Ibris. Unknown System._

"What on Sobr…?"

The _Ibris_ was coming out of hyper-space, but there were supposed to be ten more minutes to go. Masouri tried to check what was happening, but the console had shut down for a reason he couldn't explain. The emergency lights lit up seconds later only to flicker in and out every few seconds.

"Masouri, what's happening?!" Foxtrot started typing into the console himself, but the computer was out.

"I don't know, everything just shut off!" Masouri looked through the bridge's window and noticed they were flying towards a planet whose surface was covered in thick gray clouds. "Oh, shit…"

Captain and Echo rushed into the bridge. "Masouri, what's going on?!" The former asked in alarm.

Masouri growled. "I _don't_ know! Everything's shut down and we're being attracted by the gravitational field of _that_ planet!" he pointed at the dust-covered giant just outside. Seriously, why did everybody think that he knew the answer every time something happened with the ship? Sure, he was the pilot and mechanic of the _Ibris_ , but there were certain things that were out of his control.

 _This_ was one of those situations.

"Well, do something to fix it!" Captain snapped.

"The problem is we don't have anything to fix it with, Captain! Whatever shut us down also affected the energy systems!"

" _And_ the computer!" Foxtrot groaned, letting his closed fist fall on top of the keyboard.

"In other words, we're going to have a very rough landing." Echo summed it up.

Foxtrot and Masouri exchanged glances. The former then nodded. "Yup."

At that moment, Blue burst in. "Masouri-!"

The kryvtor got on his feet and snarled. "I swear, if I hear ' _what's going on_ ' one more time I'll throw myself out of the airlock!"

Blue lifted his hands defensively. "Actually I wanted to tell you the engines are down…"

Echo glanced up at Captain. "Orders, sir?"

"By the way, I don't mean to rush you but we seem to be entering the mesosphere!" Masouri whined.

Captain didn't have much time to ponder on their options; whatever they did, however, they had to make sure the Package remained alive and breathing.

"To the escape pods! NOW!" he glanced at Blue and then Masouri. "Blue, you take the two Irkens with you! Masouri, you take the egg!"

Blue nodded.

"Everyone, the meeting point will be the _Ibris'_ s crash-site! Take whatever supplies you can before departing! Now GO!"

After a quick salute, the group separated for the time being. Blue immediately went to _Fury_ 's cage, where the Indokuro was pounding against the bars like mad. "I know, I'm letting you out!" Since the electronic lock was deactivated he was able to lift the gate the old fashioned way, and was aided by _Fury_ lending him a hand with his head.

" _Fury_ , eyes on me, listen carefully!" Blue grabbed the Indokuro's head and looked into his eyes. "Fetch the two green-skins from the cells and bring them to the escape pods! Quickly! Go!"

With that he sent him on his way, and the Indokuro ran through the corridors and into the detention blocks.

* * *

_The Ibris's detention cells, meanwhile..._

Lena finally started to regain consciousness. The first thing she noticed was that she was locked in a cell in an unknown ship… No wait, there were no bars or any force fields blocking the entryway.

"Lena!" Ilk was clinging unto her, trying to shake her awake. "Thank Irk, Lena! Wake up!"

"What… Ilk?" Lena rubbed her sore head as her senses returned. "Where are we…?"

"We were captured by Sobrekt! But for some reason the cells opened, we have to get to an escape pod and contact dad!"

Lena only needed to hear the word 'Sobrekt' to realize they were in danger. Though her head was still throbbing she managed to get on her feet while Ilk helped her stand up. But when she tried to bring out her _PAK_ -legs, they didn't respond.

"The Sobrekt put a virus on your _PAK_ so you wouldn't be able to use your tools!" Ilk cried.

Lena cursed in Irken. Great, it meant they would have to get away the old-fashioned way. "Stay close to me, Ilk!" She grabbed Ilk's hand and led her out of the cell.

Both stopped when the Indokuro stopped at the doorway leading into the corridor and gave a loud shriek. Ilk immediately hid behind Lena, freezing at the sight of the creature.

"Stay away!" Lena snarled, pushing Ilk further behind her in an attempt to keep her out of the creature's sight.

The ship began to tremble and shook violently, moment he took advantage of to rush forward and grab Lena's thin waist in one large, clawed hand, while holding Ilk by the skirt of her dress in his jaws.

Lena wiggled in the creature's hold, but he was restraining her arms too. "Let us go, you monster!"

 _Fury_ ignored them and rushed through the halls until arriving to the escape pods; two were already missing, leaving only one left (the _Ibris_ was a small vessel designed for an equally small crew); Blue was already waiting outside.

"Good boy, _Fury_!" Blue congratulated his indokuro with a pat in the neck. "Now get in!"

"What is going on?!" Lena shrieked as _Fury_ hopped into the escape pod, finally releasing her and Ilk. Lena pulled Ilk closer when Blue entered the pod and closed it; it was a little cramped in there with _Fury_ half-curled up inside.

"In short, the ship shut down and we're going to crashland!" Blue stated, typing a few commands into the manual pad. "Hang on tight, we're going to have a rough landing!"

"What?!"

Too late. Blue pressed the button that sent the escape pod flying out of the ship.

The pod shook violently for a few seconds as it fell down towards the surface; it took about twenty seconds it to go through the layer of clouds concealing it from view, and by the time it did Blue managed to see mountains and forests covered in what seemed to be snow.

He didn't have time to admire the scenery as the pod crashed.

His head came into contact against the wall with such force his consciousness faded.

* * *

 

**Here's some character art of Fury and Blue, for those who are curious!**

****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like things have gone south. Hopefully it'll get better... right? I mean, what can possibly go wrong?
> 
> Next chapter: Our heroes become stranded on an unknown planet, and soon after get some unexpected arrivals.


	4. Stranded

_Unknown planet. An hour later..._

It was _very_ cold.

The ground and triangle-shaped trees were all blanketed underneath thick layers of frozen water flakes known as snow in most planets, except this one was colored a pale green.

The escape pod had landed in the forest, leaving a small trail of destruction behind it. Its external lights were turned off and there seemed to be no life inside until a powerful kick sent the door flying.

 _Fury_ was the first to come out. He warily sniffed the air and looked around, confirming the atmosphere was mostly breathable. _Fury_ let out a loud sneeze; the air was overwhelmed by the smell of dust, ice and carbon dioxide, thankfully not strong enough to render oxygen unusable. Once he was sure there were no threats around he proceeded to carefully drag Blue, Ilk and Lena's unconscious bodies out of the pod.

 _Fury_ 's attention first centered on Blue. With a few purrs and gentle growls he started nudging at his head, releasing some of his breath into Blue's own nostrils. When he got no reaction, _Fury_ 's tongue came into contact with his face.

This made him react. It took a few seconds longer than expected, but it did work.

"Argh, _Fury_ …" Blue groaned as sat up on the snow. Brrr! It was freezing! "You know it doesn't wash off…" He sneezed. Damn, his olfactory glands couldn't take so many scents at once.

"Owowow…" Lena and Ilk awoke next, but the former had taken most of the hits in her attempt to protect Ilk, making it harder for her to lift her body.

"Are you two okay?" Blue asked them, rubbing his head.

It took both irkens a few moments to recall they had been trying to escape before the indokuro interrupted them. They got on their feet and tried to run away, but it didn't take _Fury_ a fraction of a second to subdue them by pressing them against the cold ground with his arms.

"Get off me!" Ilk cried.

"Can't you keep this monster under control?!" Lena snapped, glaring up at _Fury_ in disgust.

Blue sighed as he stood up and walked up to _Fury_. However, he merely crossed his arms as he glanced down at the Irkens. "What did you expect when you just tried to get away?"

"Excuse me? You and your pals kidnapped us, so sorry if we want to escape from you as soon as possible!"

"Okay, I understand that, but look around you," Blue gestured to their surroundings. "Even if you had escaped, what would you have done next? As you can see we're stranded with no food nor water in an uncharted planet which might as well be uninhabited, and since you Irkens rely too much on technology you won't last more than two hours before you succumb to either frostbite or starvation…. or get eaten by whatever lives here, if there's any fauna.

 _Fury_ and I, on the other hand, can hunt and defend ourselves should the latter happen, we can hunt food and we know how to survive without depending on electronic gadgets. In other words, we are your best chance at survival until we're rescued."

Ilk and Lena exchanged glances. They hated to admit it but he was right in a way.

Ilk might know one thing or two about survival, but she wasn't fully prepared to survive on her own with no access to technology of any kind yet. Lena completely lacked any abilities of that kind whatsoever, she was a doctor not an explorer, and her _PAK_ was still infected with that virus kept her from using tools.

"Alright, then…" Lena sighed bitterly. "But we have conditions."

Of course. What else could he expect given the circumstances? "What conditions?"

"First, you keep your monster away from us. Second, _you_ keep your distance away."

Ilk added quickly. "Third, you let us go when we get off this planet!"

Blue rolled his eyes. "Sorry, I cannot fulfill the third condition. You two are still Sobrekt prisoners," He glanced at _Fury_. "Release them, boy."

 _Fury_ was disappointed but nevertheless lifted his hands from the two Irkenettes, who scrambled to get as away from him as possible. Lena hid Ilk behind her as soon as they were back on their feet.

"So what now?" she asked, glaring at Blue.

"Captain said that we'd meet up in the _Ibris_ 's crash site," he pointed at the direction of a long smoke column. "Which means we go _that_ way."

"Then what?"

"We'll see if we can fix the ship. If not, we try to fix the long-distance communicator to ask for help."

Ilk and Lena changed a brief glance when Blue turned around and started to walk away followed closely by _Fury_. Perhaps they could manage to contact the _Massive_ if they did fix their communicator.

"Are you two coming or should I ask _Fury_ to carry you?!"

Both Irkenettes flinched. "No!"

The group made their way through the woods, with Blue at the front, Lena and Ilk in the middle and _Fury_ at the back to keep the irkens from trying to escape again. Blue tried to communicate with his teammates through the communicator in his black gauntlet, but for a reason he couldn't explain he couldn't turn it on, and in the brief seconds he managed to all he received was static.

They took a better look at the place, though. It was mostly a sort of conifer forest with very tall trees in the middle of winter… But something seemed to be wrong with them. There were gray needle-like leaves scattered underneath the pines all around the dusty dry log base. There didn't seem to be a single sound other than the twigs being swayed by the breeze.

Also, there was something about the air... They didn't now how to explain it, but it felt... unclean. Lena noticed Blue, _Fury_ and Ilk had already coughed a few times. She twitched her antenna to take a sniff, but her _PAK_ 's basic oxygen-filter was still working, and it wasn't like the could take a sample, right?

But that wasn't the worst thing. The worst part of the whole situation was the low temperature. None of them had warm clothing and the cloud in the atmosphere were so thick no sunlight could go through them.

Blue resorted to rubbing his forearms in an attempt to warm himself up a bit while Ilk and Lena felt some ice had formed in their antenna.

Ilk eventually couldn't bear the uncomfortable silence anymore. "How did we end here anyway?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, but somehow we were taken out of hyper space- _ACHOO_!" Blue sneezed loudly, then snorted to soothe his itching nostrils a bit. "Damn it…"

"Brought out of… how is that even possible?"

"Like I said, I'm not sure. Not even Masouri knew what was happening and he's the expert when it comes to piloting stuff."

"Masouri?"

"The kryvtor with stripes and goggles, you'll get to know him later."

"Have you tried to contact them?" Lena inquired.

"The communicator doesn't work."

"Did it break?"

Blue sighed. "No. That's the weird thing…" he looked up to make sure they were going in the right direction. The smoke column was still there, but it still looked as faraway as before. At this rate it would be nighttime before they arrived.

"Think this place is inhabited?" Ilk asked Lena.

"If it were we would have already run into somebody." she pointed out.

"Not necessarily," Blue added. "They might be watching us right now and will only show themselves when they think we're no threat."

The group stopped for brief moment when they heard a strange sound similar to a growl coming from… Ilk's belly. Lena's stomach followed soon after and even Blue's joined in.

Just when they thought things couldn't get any worse.

"Do you casually have any food?" Lena asked Blue.

Blue frowned. "Do I look like I have?"

"Since you're 'in charge' I at least expected you to have that covered, since you're supposed to feed us."

Blue groaned and rubbed his temples. He was starting to wish he had gone with Masouri or Foxtrot. The kryvtor gave his indokuro a hand sign. _Fury_ chirped and started sniffing the air for any animal scents (sneezing a few times in the process); he soon disappeared into the woods.

"Where is he going?" Ilk asked, partly relieved the creature was gone.

"He's going to look for a prey to hunt," Blue explained. "He should be back in about twenty minutes, maybe less. It really depends on the amount of prey he can find."

A distant shriek of pain and a triumphant roar later, _Fury_ returned. Like Blue said, he was carrying a medium-sized animal in its jaws. It reminded Ilk of a very furry venison (earth creature she saw in the web once) with three pairs of horns and thicker hooves.

 _Fury_ placed it on the ground in front of his master, who promptly picked it up. Blue patted his neck and then sent him off to hunt something for himself.

"You expect us to eat… that?" Lena shivered both from the cold and disgust as she stared at the carcass.

Blue sighed. "Of course not."

Phew.

"I have to skin it first."

Wait, what? Skin? He didn't mean…?

Before she could even protest, Blue had already turned the creature belly up and was lowering his claws towards its… genitals!

Ilk covered her eyes and Lena turned around, both releasing a disgusted groan as the animal's bluish red blood stained the snow. They heard Blue's claws ripping the carcass open, cutting through the meat and skin and into the creature's interior.

Lena couldn't hold it in and ended up throwing up in some nearby bushes. Pretty ironic for a doctor, right? Well, on her defense they didn't teach how to skin patients at the Academy!

Just when they thought the worst was over, they caught a glimpse of Blue eating some pieces of raw, bloody meat from his hands, staining his maw and teeth. He noticed they were looking at him and lifted up one of the animal's organs. "Do you want the heart?"

Ilk joined Lena in the bushes to throw up.

* * *

_The Ibris's crash-site, a few hours later..._

Lena and Ilk were not happy.

Now they were both cold _and_ hungry.

Blue had put the remaining edible parts of the venison-thingy in its furry skin to save it for later after they refused to eat it raw. He said they'd cook it when they met up with the others. _Fury_ caught up a while later, his own maw also stained with blood, making Ilk throw up again when she imagined him doing the same.

On the bright side, they arrived at the crash site before twilight… At least that's what they thought, it was hard to tell when you couldn't even see the sun. The only way to know it was nighttime was when the whole place became darker and darker to the point one couldn't even see their own nose.

Blue was relieved to find Masouri and Echo were already there… until he noted Masouri was hugging the remains of the Ibris and sobbing loudly while Echo stared at him blankly. Oh, great.

"Oh, my beauty…!" Masouri cried out in despair. "My beautiful ship!"

"Knock it off, Masouri, it's just a ship."

"Just a ship? How can you even say that?! I've had this ship since I enrolled at the Pilot Academy!"

"Big deal, you can get another one."

"Say that again, I dare you!"

"Nice to see you too." Blue interrupted as he stepped forward, followed by Ilk, Lena and _Fury_.

"Blue!" Naturally, Echo was the first to come greeting. Lena noted she didn't hug him or touch him in anyway, however, she merely exchanged some chirp-like sounds and made brief contact with each other's snouts.

"Oh, hi Blue." Masouri said simply before going back to mourning the _Ibris_.

Blue sighed. "Judging by how Masouri's acting, I guess you already checked the ship, right?"

"It's done for," Echo said, though there was a slim undercurrent of sadness in her voice. "The engine is literally resting in pieces. Even if we do fix the ship's external damage it won't lift off."

"What about your long-distance communicators?" Ilk asked without thinking. She quickly regretted when Echo narrowed her eyes at her.

"I'm not talking to you, in case you didn't notice."

"Not now, Echo," Blue growled softly. "What she said, what about communications?"

"The console is pretty damaged, but we need Foxtrot to check it out. He's the technician, Masouri's only the mechanic."

"Wait, you mean 'Masouri' over there can fix a ship but not a communicator?" Lena asked skeptically.

"Masouri is the piloting and spacecraft expert. Foxtrot is the communication officer," Blue explained. "Technically they have to cooperate to fix the communicator."

"That sucks."

Echo frowned. "Well, if you're so smart, why don't you fix it?"

Blue managed to spot two approaching figures before a fight could start. "That won't be necessary, here they come."

Foxtrot was the first to emerge from the trees, followed by Captain. Both looked like they were literally freezing. Captain had brought an even larger prey, this one more-bison like with white coat and big curved horns.

"Captain, sir!" Blue and Echo saluted and stamped their tails on the ground. Masouri did the same, then went back to weeping.

"Status of the ship?" Captain asked in-between coughing, but then he noticed Masouri's behavior. "Nevermind, that tells me enough. The package?"

"They're right here, Captain," Blue gestured towards Ilk and Lena. "Both safe and sound."

"I'm not a package!" Ilk snapped.

Echo stared at Foxtrot from head to toes. "What happened? No offense, but you look terrible."

"Our capsule fell on a river," Foxtrot muttered with a sneeze. "We had to swim to the edge- _ACHOO_!"

"Shut up and go see if you can fix the communicator." Captain snapped and pointed to the ship. What did he complain about? _He_ had to carry him to the edge! Besides, Masouri's crying was getting annoying.

Foxtrot dragged his feet on the snow as he walked towards the Ibris's remains, grabbed Masouri by the arm and dragged him inside despite his protests.

"Captain, with all due respect, I don't think you should skin the game in front of…" Blue subtly glanced at the Irkenettes. "They have very weak stomachs."

"Too bad," Captain said simply. "Echo, start a fire. Blue, keep an eye on them so they don't try anything funny."

This time Ilk and Lena turned around before Captain started skinning the bison-beast. Even without looking at it, however, the smell of its blood was overwhelming. Blue fed the rest of the meat from earlier to _Fury_ , who ate it eagerly.

Echo gathered a good bunch of thick dry branches and wood and started a big bonfire. Ah, the heat was so good, particularly for the cold-blooded Sobrekt. Ilk and Lena felt comfortably warm as they held their hands close to the fire, not enough to burn themselves, only enough to receive the heat.

Once again the Sobrekt ate their meat completely raw (though Captain did roast his a tiny beat beforehand), but this time at least they were considerate enough to let both Irkenettes cook their own share of the meat on the fire with long sticks.

"I don't understand how you they can waste a good cut of meat like that…" Echo muttered as she took a bite from the creature's sirloin.

"Just like I don't understand why you eat it raw." Lena snapped back.

"It tastes better," Captain explained, eating the whole heart of the beast. "The more you cook meat, the more it loses both its juice and all the nutrients."

There was a yell of frustration and the sound of a loud bang coming from the _Ibris_. Seconds later Foxtrot and Masouri came out and approached the bonfire; the latter had finally stopped crying, though he'd still glanced at the ship every now and then.

Ilk noted Masouri was carrying something in his arms; it was a medium-sized compact case of some sorts. It had a cylindrical-shaped glass container, and there was a big, black egg with tiny white speckles inside on top of a pillow. He placed it a few feet away from the fire as a manner of incubation to keep it from getting too cold.

"So how did it go?" Echo asked.

"Good news and bad news," Masouri said, starting to eat some ribs. "The good news is we did manage to fix the communicator."

"And the bad?" Blue asked.

"We cannot communicate with anyone," Foxtrot growled, bristling his crest (Ilk noted only the kryvtor-type of Sobrekt seemed to have those feathers). "We tried to contact Sobr, the _Tyrannus_ , _everybody_ , but the signal doesn't kick in. It's like something's blocking it."

"Perhaps it's the climate," Blue said. "It took twenty full seconds for the pod to go through those clouds."

"That doesn't explain why the normal communicators don't work either," Masouri held up his left arm, tapping on his bracer with his claw. "I think we tried to contact you a dozen times."

"23 times, to be more precise." Foxtrot added quickly.

"Me too." Blue was next.

"Great, so we can't communicate at long or short distances." Captain snapped a leg in half to vent off a bit.

"That's not all," Masouri said. "We had to use the old-fashioned generator to turn the communication panel on. The power core wouldn't work either."

Captain gave a loud growl-sounding groan. "Great, so what you're saying is that we're stranded here with no energy and no way to get help?"

Foxtrot nodded. "Yup."

"Can you at least fix the engine?"

"No," Masouri sniffled. "The crash destroyed it completely. It must be replaced, and it's not like a random ship with a compatible engine is going to fall from the sky, right?"

At that moment, what appeared to be an Irken Ring Cutter dove down from the sky and crash landed a few meters away.

The group stared agape for a few seconds before Masouri whispered. "Or maybe I'm wrong."

* * *

_Hyperspace. 10 minutes earlier..._

"Are we there yet?"

Red didn't even bother to glance at him. He merely sighed. "No, Skoodge, we're not there yet."

"Question, why did Bob come?" Purple motioned to the table drone seating behind him.

"I've had experience with the sobrekt-beast like the others!" was the reply.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but all you and Skoodge did was to distract it for a few seconds."

"But it gave Tenn enough time to go fetch Ilk!"

"I have to agree with them on that one." Tenn said.

It had been almost half an hour since they entered the hyper space towards the coordinates and Red was already getting impatient. He was already wishing they had brought the Armada, but this was a personal matter. Besides, sharing a ring cutter with Purple was one thing, but sharing it with Purple, four Invaders and a table drone was a bit too much.

Should anything go wrong they had an emergency probe with a recorded message which would automatically take the coordinates of the exact location it was launched from to help the Armada find them.

"If anything, we got enough supplies." Purple said with a doughnut in his mouth.

"So what's the plan?" Bob asked.

"We save Ilk and vaporize whatever stinky lizard stands in our way."

"You mean Ilk and doctor Lena." Red reminded him.

"Oh, right. I had almost forgotten about the doc. I hope she's okay, she's really good at her job," Purple couldn't help but glance at his co-Tallest. "It's curious, though, it's the first time you actually worry about an employee."

"What? She's the first medic we have that is actually tall." Plus it was pleasant to have her around. Argh! There it was, that stupid feeling again!

The ring cutter shook violently out of sudden. The lights went out, startling Stink into jumping unto Tenn's lap.

Larb burst in from the bridge. "My Tallest, we're being brought out of hyperspace!"

Red got off his seat. "What? Why?!"

"I'm not sure, My Tallest, but whatever it is also affected the power core! We have no energy!"

Bob blinked. "Hey, Larb, who's flying the ship?"

Larb rolled his eyes. "Duh! I am!"

….

Oh. That kinda of explained why the ship was falling towards that planet down below.

"Skoodge, send the emergency beacon now!"

"Y-Yes, My Tallest!"

"The rest of you buckle up and save as many snacks as you can! Not in that order, the other way around!"

They fell into the thick cloud layer.

Purple screamed as he clung to as many doughnut bags as possible.

Tenn and Stink screamed as the former forgot completely about pushing the latter off her lap.

Bob and Skoodge screamed as they embraced each other.

Red and Larb screamed as they tried to steer the ship.

"OH, NO! WE'RE GOING TO CRASH AGAINST THE MOUNTAIN!"

Bob managed to take a better look at it. "Actually, it looks more like a bunch of birds!"

Like he said, the Ring Cutter flew through the black avian-beasts unharmed. Seconds later the ship finally passed through the final cloud layer.

"OH, NO! WE'RE GOING TO CRASH ON THE FOREST!"

Even though they were falling at a very high speed Red managed to spot what seemed to be another crashed ship to the right. Could it be the Sobrekt vessel that had taken Ilk and Lena?

There was only one way to find out.

Larb panicked when his leader pushed him aside and started steering the ship rightwards. "M-My Tallest, what are you doing?!"

"Hang on, we're going to have a rough landing!" Red responded quickly.

He braced himself just in time to crash-land.

…

Though Red didn't lose consciousness, he did feel his head and upper body throbbing. Larb was next to him, groaning and whimpering in pain as he rubbed his head. "Purple, are you okay?!"

Purple cried. "The donuts are alright!" And judging by the groans coming from the Invaders (and Bob), he could guess they were still alive and breathing as well.

With a groan of pain, Red managed to get back on his feet-man, the hover belt would be so useful right now, but sadly it wasn't included in the battle armor-and painfully walked over to the visor to have a subtle look around. He was glad to realize they had landed near the other ship.

Like he suspected, it was a Sobrekt vessel. There was a fire a few steps away, and gathered around it were four raptor-like Sobrekts, the crocodilian named Captain (seriously? How many times could you repeatedly run into the same person?), a sobrekt-beast similar to the one sent to the _Massive_ four years ago, and…

"I knew it! There they are!"

This caused Purple to get on his feet. "How many Sobrekt?"

"Five plus an Hybrekt."

"Another one?!" Stink cried in dismay.

The Sobrekt started walking towards the ship, leaving Ilk and Lena behind with the beast. They probably were going to salvage whatever parts of the ring cutter they thought they could use to repair their own ship. "Everyone get ready. They're coming closer."

"Hey, Skoodge, did you send the emergency beacon?" Tenn asked.

Skoodge gulped nervously when all glances were on him. "Y-Yes… I managed to launch it before we entered the mesosphere…"

"In that case, the Armada should arrive soon," Purple grinned, lifting a pair of laser pistols with a snicker. "Let's give those lizards a hard time."

Red nodded and stepped back from the door before any of the Sobrekt could see him, readying his own plasma rifle as did the rest of the Invaders with their own weapons… except for Bob, of course, since he didn't even have the authorization to have a simple gun.

The door opened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Both parties begrudgingly realize they must work together to survive. Plus, more unexpected arrivals.


	5. Uneasy Alliance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone! As you have noticed I posted on day early. The reason? I've decided to move my updating date to fridays, mostly because I don't have class on fridays, they were put on saturdays. I know, my schedule is crazy, but hey, its university.
> 
> Enjoy your reading!

_Five Minutes Later.._

" _Thank you_ , Bob!"

"What did you expect me to do when that thing was about to lunge and I was weaponless?!"

"Mmmmpppph!"

"Yeah, what he said!"

Okay, things didn't _exactly_ go according to plan.

Bob had panicked when he saw the approaching Sobrekt-beast (the sobrekt with the blue stripe had called it _Fury_ ) and didn't watch where he was going when he came out of the ring cutter.

In short he ran into Stink, causing him to trip and fall on top of Skoodge, who in turn ran into Larb and Tenn, and they fell forward causing both Red and Purple to lose their balance and fall to the ground. The Sobrekt, who had apparently been eager for a fight, just watched awkwardly as this happened.

So _thanks_ for that, Bob.

So now they were tied up-Purple was additionally gagged with a long piece of cloth for 'talking too much'-, disarmed and their _PAK_ s were rendered toolless with the same virus that partly incapacitated Lena's. Speaking of Lena, she was tied up and put next to Red, much to his... awkwardness. That's how you call it, right?

On the bright side, at the very least Sobrekt were 'considerate' enough to put them close to the fire.

What was eating him on the inside, however, was watching his daughter being held down by the _Fury_ -beast with its talon. Those claws seemed _very_ sharp.

"Get that monster away from my daughter!" Red snapped, flattening his antenna against his head. Great. He had revealed the blood relation between himself and Ilk, but frankly he didn't care; he wasn't going to pretend she was just a random smeet to save face.

"I've heard of running into people once or twice, but _this_ is ridiculous." Captain murmured, glancing at him and Purple in particular.

"The feeling is mutual, _Captain_." Red spat. The others snickered at the name, but Captain paid them no heed.

Ilk snapped at her captors. "Don't you dare hurt them!"

"Chill out, Irken-child, we're not going to eat them… yet."

Skoodge gulped.

"Chill out, they're just trying to scare us." Tenn assured him.

"Well, it's working." Stink muttered.

The violet kryvtor placed more of the snack bags on the ground near the fire alongside the blue one, ignoring Purple's muffled protests. "By the ancestors, how can these guys eat so much fat and be so thin?"

"You talk much considering you eat _raw_ meat." Lena retorted.

"They eat _what_?" Larb asked. Red was pretty certain Purple would have said something like 'I'm going to throw up' if he could talk, but since he couldn't his nauseous expression said it all.

"Meat is _healthier_ than refined sugar, at the very least." The violet one pointed out matter-of-factly.

"Okay, that's all." Blue-one brought the last bags of doughnuts.

Purple wiggled violently. "MMMMPPPH!"

"He said 'get your filthy claws off my donuts'." Red translated.

"How do you know that?" The female-kryvtor asked with a frown.

"When you get to know him as much as as I do, you can tell what he means to say even if he doesn't outright state it. He can do the same in my case; he'd show you, but he can't talk as you can see."

Purple nodded.

Red's whole attention was on Ilk, however. She was trembling underneath the _Fury-_ beast, either from the cold snow or the terror. He was worried this might trigger any memories from the incident and traumatize her further… She thought it had been a nightmare, but it was a nightmare that had haunted her many nights as a smeet. On more than one occasion he had to burst into her room in the middle of the night to comfort her after she woke in terror, and he'd take her to sleep with him to let her know she was safe.

The _Fury-_ beast looked down at Ilk and lowered his head to sniff her.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!"

In a fit of panic Red somehow managed to get on his feet, but the female-kryvtor reacted quickly and pinned him to the ground before he could get close to Ilk.

"Don't you even try." She hissed, pressing her claw against his head.

The rest of the Irkens started to protest, but were held back in place by the other kryvtors.

"My Tallest!"

"Oh, when I get loose from here I'm going to vaporize you!"

" _MMMMFFF!"_

It was like reliving the whole nightmare he went through when the first Hybrekt was sent to the _Massive_ , when it went after Ilk and tore her leg off, when he could do _nothing_ to stop it from happening.

Ilk cried out. "Dad!"

Captain stared at the scene for a brief moment. Was he amused for his attempt to protect his daughter? It was hard to tell, Sobrekt were hard to read.

A few seconds later he said. "Release the smeet," Then he glanced at the female-kryvtor. "You too, let him go.

Red thought he had misheard. What did the croc intend to do?

Blue-one looked at him in confusion, but he didn't protest. The female, on the other hand, "But Captain…"

"It's an order, Echo."

Grumbling, she lifted her foot and lifted the Irken to his knees. Blue (and Captain was cynical enough to say THEIR naming after a color was ridiculous) gave the _Fury-_ beast a hand sign and it lifted its talon off Ilk; as soon she didn't feel the weight anymore Ilk ran towards her father, hugging him tightly.

"It's okay, sweetheart, I'm here.." he whispered. He wished he could hug her, but his hands were tied behind his back, so he could only rub his head against hers.

"Hate to interrupt this heartwarming reunion, but now that your ship seems to be unusable we're still stuck here." The violet-kryvtor pointed out.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Skoodge inquired.

Captain gave them a brief but detailed explanation of what had happened: how their ship had shut down, communications didn't work and any device that used electricity was useless.

"Basically what you're saying is that we are stranded here?" Tenn said in disbelief.

Lena sighed. "Sad but true."

Red chuckled. "Well, that's too bad. Fortunately for us, and unfortunately for _you_ , we sent an emergency beacon to the Armada before landing here. Which means that in less than you can imagine they will arrive, and once they do they will wipe you off this planet's surface."

The Invaders snickered at this proclamation. Purple gave a smug grin that was unseen thanks to the gag.

Far from being intimidated, Captain crossed his arms. "Didn't you pay attention? If they _do_ come, what makes you think their ships won't shut down and end up here too, included your beloved _Massive?_ "

"And assuming it didn't happen, you seem to forget you are on the surface of this planet as well, and at our _mercy_." Blue added with a smirk.

Damn it. Well, what mattered was that help would come soon and hopefully the _Massive_ wouldn't be affected by whatever was bringing down ships in this place.

It was the _Massive,_ after all.

The sobrekt's pilot walked out of the Ring Cutter, somehow managing to bring the engine in his thin arms, though judging by the expression on his face it must weight a bit too much even for him.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing with that?!" Stink snapped, shifting on his place

The pilot ignored him and instead addressed Captain. "Sir, I think this engine could be compatible with the _Ibris_ if it can be repaired ."

" _Mmbrmmmm_?" Purple snickered through the gag. Red could tell he was making fun of the name.

"There's a but, isn't it?" Blue asked.

The pilot rubbed the back of his head. "I kind of… don't know much about Irken machines."

Larb laughed. "Well, well. It appears you'll need _help._ If only there was an Irken around who could lend a hand..."

Captain sighed in dismay. Red grinned internally; good job Larb. He had hit the jackpot. This meant the Sobrekt would need _their_ help. Oh, sweet revenge!

"Okay, what are the conditions for your… help?" Captain asked grimly. Judging by the look on his face _that_ must have hurt.

"First of all, you untie us." Lena said.

Captain signaled to Echo and the pilot to do so. As soon as he was free Purple took off the gag and started spitting. "Puaj! Is this a sock or something?!"

As soon as he was free Red got on his feet and pulled Ilk closer to him, hiding her behind his legs as he glared at Blue. "Second, you keep your… _pet_ and your filthy presence away from my daughter." Usually Ilk would have protested, but this time she merely snuggled against his armor.

Stink asked. "Third, would you mind giving us the weapons back?"

The violet kryvtor snorted. "So you can turn on us the moment we hand them over?"

"Alright, I suggest this," Blue intervened. "How about both parties leave their weapons aside and we only grab them if a wild animal attacks? That way we can keep an eye on each other and avoid any… uprisings."

Red had to admit, it wasn't a bad suggestion. Looking around, he noted both groups seemed reluctant.

In the end they decided it was worth a shot. Besides, it would be more comfortable if they didn't have to worry about being stabbed in the back.

"Anything else?" Captain asked.

"Stay away from my doughnuts!" Purple snapped.

Red rolled his eyes, but that was a valid point; they needed to ration the snacks if they wanted to survive until they Armada arrived. Ilk pulled into his armor. "What is it, sweetie?" She didn't speak, she merely pointed at the direction of the snacks. There were also these strange noises sounding like a bunch of animals eating…

Sweet irk.

Soon the rest of the group stared at the scene agape… except Purple, who seemed to be oblivious to what was going on. "What?"

Red blinked. "Pur, you're going to freak out, but I think you should know there's a problem…"

"What's the big deal?" Purple turned around and stared at the pile of snacks that had been placed there… or at least what used to be the snacks.

 _Fury_ was laying on top of empty paper bags with his abdomen swollen and crumbs all over his face.

* * *

_Later..._

The first night was _very_ tense.

The Sobrekt had their own conditions to allow the irkens into _their_ ship once the engine was fully repaired and they could use it.

Firstly, they were _not_ the Irkens' slaves and would not tolerate any behavior that suggested otherwise, which included being referred by any denigrating names.

Secondly, the _Ibris_ was Sobrekt property, so as soon as they were off the Irkens would be dropped off somewhere their famous Armada could pick them up. Lena had the feeling it wouldn't apply to Ilk, but they'd worry about that once they were off.

Thirdly, the only reason they would share food was to make up for Fury eating their snacks.

Speaking of which, Purple had been in a sort of catatonic state ever since the doughnuts were eaten. He just stared at space blankly and remained unresponsive to any stimuli. Red knew it was a matter of time before he broke down.

The weapons of _both_ sides were placed in crate from the _Ibris_ , in turn put outside just on top of the 'neutral' line dividing the camp in the Irken and Sobrekt sides. Red and the others placed their plasma rifles and guns while Captain and the kryvtors placed a katana, dual sai and twin butterfly swords and other things reminiscent of ninja tools.

Don't question it, Red. They're Sobrekt.

The lizards were the first to go into into the Ibris's remains to sleep for the night, leaving the Irkens outside their own crashed vessel.

"I'm getting worried," Lena whispered, waving her hand in front of Purple's blank expression. "It's been an hour already and he hasn't reacted."

"Trust me, when he snaps out of it you'll wish he had remained like this." Red sighed. The last time Purple had been left without donuts for too long had been a complete disaster; sometimes he still had nightmares about it.

"Did you notice the egg the _Fury_ -beast was last looking after?" Skoodge inquired. "I got the feeling it's an indokuro egg."

"What makes you think that, captain obvious?" Stink said in between chewing a roasted piece of meat. "The fact that mama indokuro is holding it close?"

"Actually, they refer to that thing as a male." Lena said.

"Well, papa indokuro."

Ilk hadn't said a single word. She was leaned against his body frame, yawning every now and then, struggling to keep her eyes open: she had also coughed a few times despite the warmth.

"Are you tired, Ilk?"

"No, dad… I'm just resting my eyes…"

Red rolled his eyes, but nevertheless smiled lightly. "Riiight," He picked her up and got on his feet. "I'm going into the Ring Cutter.. Or rather, what's left of it. If you're going to stay outside be sure to keep an eye on the lizards… and Tallest Purple."

"Yes, My Tallest!"

Red walked into the Ring Cutter; it was comfortably warm in comparison to the outside where it was terribly cold even with the fire. Most of the inside was a mess due to the crash, there were bits of broken stuff everywhere. Thankfully the compartment with the emergency stash, blankets and pillows didn't have an electronic door, so it wasn't a problem to take out a few pillows and a thick blanket.

Ilk didn't protest as he tucked her in on top of one of the seats. It had been a long day after all, being kidnapped by the Sobrekt, crash landing and having to worry about the indokuro's presence all the while.

"Are you mad at me, dad?" she asked.

"Mad?" Red repeated.

"It's my fault we're here. If I hadn't taken that runner…"

"I'm not mad, sweetie." At least not now. Once they returned to the _Massive_ he had a pending talk with her, but right then his main priority was to keep her safe. "What matters is that you're not hurt."

"But…"

"We'll talk about it later…" Red smiled and stroked her head. "For now just sleep. I'm not leaving you, I promise."

He watched as she slowly fell asleep. She still looked cute even though she wasn't a little smeet anymore. Thank Irk they had reached her before the Sobrekt could do anything to her. He better keep an eye on them, though.

Minutes later there was a gentle, almost silent knock on the door. Red's antenna twitched as he glanced at the doorway.

He found Lena standing there, holding what seemed to be a perfectly roasted piece of… that thing's meat in her hands. "I brought you some food, My Tallest." She whispered to avoid awakening Ilk.

His stomach growled at that precise moment. Now that he recalled, they hadn't gotten to eat before coming here. Big mistake. Now he was starving and there were no doughnuts left thanks to that indokuro.

"Thanks…" he said, accepting the leg. "What about you? Have you eaten?"

"A while ago. The Sobrekt were considerate enough to feed us."

How sad. An Almighty Tallest reduced to eating the flesh of inferior life-forms. He had to admit the smell made his mouth water, though. Okay, he could do it. It would be just like the dried frys from the Academy. Red tentatively bit into the leg and tore a small chunk from it.

Mm. It wasn't that bad. It tasted better than dry frys, at the very least.

"Did you make it?"

Lena shrugged. "Sort of. Tenn lent me a hand, I'm not very good at cooking by myself."

"Ah, yes, Tenn is very good at it. Has Purple reacted yet?"

"He blinked _once_."

"That gives us about five more minutes of peace and tranquility before he starts with the doughnut abstinence syndrome."

"Doughnut abstinence syndrome?" Lena laughed.

"I know, dumb name. Purple's idea. We often call it _DAS_."

Both laughed a bit, followed by a few moments of silence. Her smile was… heartwarming.

Eventually Red spoke again. "Say.. I want to thank you for taking care of Ilk," he glanced at his smeet again. "If she had been by herself…"

"I couldn't let them hurt her," Lena said gently. "She really is a good smeet."

"Indeed. She means everything to me, I don't know what I'd do if I lost her… It's just that sometimes she doesn't seem to understand it."

"Excuse my boldness, My Tallest, but I noted she doesn't have a _PAK_."

Though she didn't directly ask, Red could see the question. "You're pretty observant, aren't you?"

"I'm sorry, forget I asked…!" The way Lena's face turned greenish like the shade of her eyes almost reminded him of the way Miyuki would blush with a bluish hue. Perhaps that's what saved her from a stern reprimand on his part.

"It's okay," he assured her. "Yes. Ilk was naturally-birthed. She was quite an… unexpected surprise," Red chuckled. Ah, the good times, at least when the scent of her diaper wasn't overwhelming everything. "Her birth mother died and she was automatically sent to me because my DNA was used for her creation."

"I see…"

There was a loud shriek coming from the outside, followed by startled yells which in turn gave place to complaints from both the Invaders and the Sobrekt. Well, actually only the Sobrekt complained. Their ship must not be soundproof if they managed to hear it from within.

Lena jumped to her feet while Red merely took a hand to his forehead. Now they wouldn't be able to sleep all night.

Neither noticed Ilk's half-open eyelid closing again.

* * *

_Next Morning..._

Thanks to the Purple Tallest's little 'tantrum', Blue didn't get to sleep much.

He had to say he was surprised to discover the Irken Leaders were so… well, unleader-like in certain aspects, starting that they took most of the food for themselves, Lena and Ilk while leaving the other smaller Irkens with scraps. Ilk and Lena would share their food, but that wasn't the point.

From what he heard from the Irkens, the big scandal was only the beginning. Throughout the night the purple Tallest seemed to hallucinate, mistaking leaves, branches and even the snow for his lost snacks and shoved them into his mouth only to spit them out seconds later. Then he started throwing the two shortest Irkens around to vent off his rage.

He would have continued to do this all night if the red Tallest hadn't come out of the Ring Cutter and literally beaten a bit of sense into him. Afterwards Purple lay on the ground in a fetal position, eyes wide and muttering nonsenses to himself.

Blue found him still like this when he emerged from the _Ibris_ 's doors the next morning.

To his dismay the air was still cold and the fires were out. It was bad. One of the disadvantages of being cold-blooded is that your body can't keep its current temperature on its own, and was deeply affected by external cold and heat. The colder it was, the more energy they consumed and the more they needed to eat to replenish it. In a matter of hours without food under these conditions would send them into automatic _amok_.

For warm-bloods who don't know what _**amok**_ means, it's a state of profound dormancy the Sobrekt go into every time the temperature drops dangerously. During this time, their breathing and heartbeat slowed down considerably and gave them a death-like appearance. The only way to awaken was for the temperature to rise, and even then it took the recently-awakened Sobrekt to be fully back on their senses.

Better not to let the Irkens know that.

Blue felt his throat itch and his chest hurt slightly, causing him to go into a short coughing fit again. He was now _certain_ something was wrong with the air. He wasn't the only one who noticed: Captain, Echo, Masouri, Foxtrot and even _Fury_ were having similar symptoms, even the smeet herself had coughed a few times. He was initially confused, since the other Irkens didn't show any signs of having trouble breathing at all, but then he noticed she didn't have the _PAK_ that had made them so famous.

"Damn it…" Masouri stepped out just behind him, stretching out his sore muscles and joints. "I can't believe I slept on top of the egg

"That's what you get for sleeping with the incubator in your bed instead of placing it aside." Foxtrot joined in.

Blue noted both had bags under their eyes. "Couldn't sleep either?"

"It's hard when the purple Irken didn't shut up in nearly all night. Look at that, even the Irken soldiers look like they had a bad time…" Foxtrot pointed to Larb, Stink and Tenn, who had similar expressions to his and Masouri's.

"Should we ask them if they're okay?"

Masouri snorted. "Please, like they would do the same for us."

Larb's next statement erased any sympathy Blue might have felt for the Irkens. "Hey, when are you going to get us breakfast? The Tallests are starving, and so are we!"

"See?"

Grin and bear it, Blue. Grin and bear it. Especially since _your_ indokuro was the one who ate the Irkens' supplies, if one could call them that.

And so, a few minutes later he was going into the forest with _Fury_ and Echo to find a prey big enough to feed all of them, plus to give themselves some extra rations for the aforementioned reasons of being cold blooded and in need of more energy. They had to move a bit further away from the camp, however. No animal was dumb enough to go near any potential predators.

"Think their Armada will really come?" Echo asked him silently as they followed the trail of an animal with big hooves. Probably like the one Captain had brought last night.

"Let's hope not. If those ships are shut down by whatever did the same to ours, they'll rain down upon us. And if they aren't, they can destroy this fucking planet with us still on it."

"Not as long as we have their leaders." Echo pointed out.

"That's a good point," Blue looked back in the direction of the camp. He wondered if the package… no, Ilk. Her name was Ilk. He better remember it to avoid any more disgusts. Anyway, he wondered if she was better. "You know, I have the feeling Ilk doesn't even know her importance to us right now."

"What makes you think that? Did you forget the indokuro sent to retrieve her brought back a leg?" Echo said, swishing her tail. "She doesn't seem to have a prosthetic or anything like that. We know what that means. You mean to tell me she wouldn't notice her leg regenerating completely out of nowhere?"

"She has _never_ mentioned the sacred flower, and of you recall back on the _Ibris_ she asked what we wanted with her. She doesn't know the flower's very essence has assimilated into her DNA."

"Even if that were true, nothing will justify the fact that the Irken Leaders _stole_ the flower and killed it!"

"If the rumors regarding the outbreak of Drilo's disease around that time are right, then that would be a strong reason for them to have done it."

Echo hissed at him. "Why do you defend them, Blue?"

"I'm not! I'm just saying that the reason was not _completely_ selfish. They did it the wrong way, that's right, but the red Tallest just wanted to save his child's life. I mean, wouldn't you do the same for your hatchlings?"

Before Echo could retort, _Fury_ lifted his head and gave a small chirp-like sound. It meant he had heard something. "What's up, boy? Did you find anything?" Blue asked him.

 _Fury_ wasn't looking around, however, he was looking at the sky. Perhaps he had heard a flying creature of some sorts? He loved chasing after those and snatching them in his teeth, then Blue would have to spend half an hour removing the feathers from his gums.

"What is he looking at?" Echo asked.

"Whatever it is, it's coming from above us…"

Wait… From above? This could only mean one thing.

A considerably small Irken vessel dove through the clouds and crashed behind the line of trees.

* * *

_The Camp, a few minutes later..._

At some point she must have fallen asleep, because soon her eyelids cracked open.

Lena rubbed her eyes and took a look around. Tallest Red had fallen asleep on the chair next to Ilk. As for the smeet, though, she too was in the process of waking up. Ilk noticed her father sleeping, and made as little noise as possible as she sat up, stretching her muscles.

Lena felt unusually warm given the low temperature. She realized there was a blanket on top of her, red in color. It didn't take a genius to know who had put it there. She'd have to thank her Tallest later when he woke up. He must be exhausted from having had to calm Tallest Purple down last night.

Speaking of Tallest Purple, he was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he was outside?

"Good morning, Lena," Ilk greeted the doctor in a low voice. "Did you sleep well?"

Lena nodded, smiling. "How about you, Ilk?"

"Considering uncle Purple made a ruckus most of the night, I can't say I had sweet dreams. Plus, I'm hungry-" Ilk coughed a few times.

Lena raised her antenna in alarm. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm just getting used to this atmosphere, that's all..." Ilk said.

Oh, right. Ilk didn't have a _PAK_ to turn the air into clean oxygen. "Maybe the Sobrekt have already brought something to eat. Wait here, I'll make sure the indokuro is not around."

Hopefully he was sent to hunt by himself, much like the previous day. Lena stood up, walked up to the door and took a wary step outside. The darkness was gone and instead everything was back to grayish green hues, letting her know it was daytime already.

Skoodge and Bob were trying to start a fire the old-fashioned way with little to no success while Larb and Stink were vigilating the perimeter, while Tallest Purple was still on the ground in fetal position, trembling (he was _so_ going to get a cold) and twitching his antenna.

On the other side of the camp, the Sobrekt's side, they had already started their own fire. Captain was eating on the partially-frozen remains of the leg from yesterday, while Masouri and Tenn(how she was allowed to their side without losing a leg was a mystery) were working on the engine. Foxtrot was doing his own rounds around the edge of the woods.

She noted Blue and Echo were not around, which meant _Fury_ was not around either. With that in mind, Lena signaled to Ilk that she could come out.

"Good morning, doctor Lena! Good morning, Ilk!" Skoodge was the first to greet them.

"How are you guys doing?" Ilk asked.

"As you can see, those two can't even start a little wood fire." Stink muttered, rubbing his forearms while giving Bob and Skoodge irritated looks.

Bob dropped his sticks and snapped. "Well, if you are such an expert why don't you come start it yourselves?!"

Ilk glanced at the bonfire on the Sobrekt's side. "Wouldn't it be easier if we asked them for a bit of their fire?"

"That's lizard-fire! We're not going to use lizard-fire on _our_ bonfire!" Larb said.

"Larb, I don't think now's the time for _that_ ," Lena said sternly. "Just look at Tenn, she got them to accept her into their side. How did she do it, by the way?"

"She was…" Stink shivered in disgust. " _Polite_. She actually asked if she could go over there to help."

Larb added quickly. "From number two Invader reduced to that…"

Lena chose to ignore those denigrating comments and focused on Purple. "How is Tallest Purple?"

"He hasn't moved from there. I'm getting worried." Skoodge said.

"And where is the indokuro-beast?" Ilk asked quickly. Even mentioning it sent shivers down her spine.

"The female sobrekt and the blue lizard took it hunting. And they've taken quite a while! We're starving!" Larb complained clutching his stomach.

"If you can't wait, how about _you_ go find something to eat _yourself_?" Captain called from the other side. "You know how to do that, don't you?"

"Like I'm going to listen to _you_!"

"Be quiet, would you? Tallest Red is sleeping!" Lena hissed to the both of them, glancing back at the Ring Cutter worriedly.

Foxtrot lifted his nose and sniffed the air. "Is it me or something's being cooked?"

"It's not me, I already finished the leg." Captain stated.

Lena and Ilk took a quick sniff and trailed the origin of the smell to _their_ side of the camp, coming from…

"Bob, don't panic, but your pants are on fire."

The table drone looked backwards and found the black tunic was, indeed, burning. With a panicked yell he jumped to his feet and tried to put it out by sitting on top of the wood. They watched as smoke rose from underneath and sent Bob flying high into the air again with a loud yell of pain while the rest watched.

"Look at the bright side, at least he started the bonfire." Larb and Stink walked closer and lifted their hands on top of the burning flame to receive the heat.

Blue and Echo finally returned, but they looked perplexed. Lena quickly pulled Ilk behind her as soon as the former glanced at them and responded him with a warning glance of her own.

Larb asked impatiently. "So where's the food?"

"Keep talking to us like that and you'll have to feed yourselves." Echo hissed at him with slit pupils.

"He has a point. Did you hunt anything?" Foxtrot asked. "We're starving."

Blue shifted uncomfortably. "Well, there was an unexpected… issue."

"Issue? What do you mean?"

"An Irken ship crashed a few miles away-" Blue was startled when suddenly Larb, Tink, Skoodge and even Tenn got to their feet and celebrated the news. Tallest Purple, however, didn't react. He must be _really_ ill if he wasn't rejoicing at it, Lena thought.

"YES! THE ARMADA IS HERE!"

"ON YOUR FACES, LIZARDS! JUST WAIT UNTIL THEY GET DOWN!"

"BLESSED GOOD LUCK, WE'RE SAVED!"

Blue coughed impatiently. "I said it was only _one_ ship, and a _very_ small one. Besides, it only had two passengers."

"Two passengers?" Lena repeated.

"LET GO OF ME, YOU FILTHY LIZARD-BEAST!"

The invaders froze when they heard that voice while Ilk perked up her antenna. Even _Tallest_ _Purple_ jumped to his feet with his own antenna flat against his head. "No… Please, not _him_!"

 _Fury_ stepped out of the forest, holding an unconscious human with a humongous head and a squirming, short Irken with ruby pinkish eyes by their clothing.

"DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM?! I AM THE ALMIGHTY _INVADER ZIM_!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun-dun-duuuun! OF course, how can there be an IZ fic without Zim himself in it? Where's the fun in that?!
> 
> Next chapter: As the parties gets used to Zim's arrival, an encounter in the forest leads to disaster...


	6. The Capture

The reaction to the new arrivals was… mixed.

" _Zim?"_ Larb rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

At that very moment Red emerged from the ring cutter doing a similar gesture, in his case because he was still groggy. "Would you mind lowering your volume?! Some of us are trying to-!" He stopped abruptly when he saw who was hanging from _Fury_ 's maw.

Zim finally acknowledged the presence of the other Irkens, but he ignored the other invaders and instead focused on the two Tallest. "Never fear, My Tallest! The great Zim has come to save you!"

"I can see that." Red said bitterly. Considering Zim was in the Indokuro's hold, however, it seemed he was the one who needed saving.

"How on Irk did you find us, anyway?" Skoodge asked. He was devoid of any hostility unlike most of the others.

"I was working on one of my newest plans to destroy the hyoomans-!"

Red interrupted him. "Go straight to the point, Zim." He certainly was _not_ in the mood to hear another stupid plan that was doomed to failure because Zim had been the one to think of it.

Of course, this worked _wonders_ with Zim. "Okay, as I was saying, I was going to contaminate the hyoomans' supply of milk by infecting it with _lots_ of GERMS when a probe crashed nearby! It had an emergency message from you, My Tallest, and the coordinates to this puny rock! So Zim came to rescue you from the Sobrekt-beasts!" Zim glared at the still-unconscious human. "Thanks to the Dib-beast, however, I crashed my beautiful Zhook cruiser!"

Silence. Red glanced at Purple. Purple stared at Zim blankly. Larb, Stink and Tenn exchanged looks. Ilk and Lena stared worriedly at Red, afraid his reaction.

The emergency probe must have been deviated from its course, probably by a meteorite or any other factor, and instead of going to the Armada it ended up landing right on Earth…

Red took a deep breath. "Did you at least contact the Armada before coming here?"

"I had no time for that! I wasn't going to let the Sobrekt-beasts eat you!" Zim lifted a hand to the Sobrekt. "You hear me, Sobrekt-beasts?!"

Okay, if being stranded on a freezing-cold, uninhabited planet with no snacks, no technology(not even the _PAK_ ), no way to communicate with the Armada and having to cooperate with the Sobrekt of all alien species was stressing, _this_ was the breaking point.

Lena, Larb and Stink barely had time to hold Red back as he lunged and tried to attack Zim, cursing and yelling in Irken.

Ilk noticed the Sobrekt hadn't said _anything_ about Zim yet. They were staring at him with wide eyes, however.

"You mean that's… Zim?" Captain asked slowly.

" _The_ Zim? The Irken who single-handedly was _this_ close to destroying the Irken civilization and ruined their first attempt at galactic conquest?" Masouri even made a little gesture with his claws to emphasize.

"That's right, you Sobrekt-beasts!" Zim growled. "I am Zim, and I will likewise destroy _you_ if you do not release My Tallest-!" The Sobrekt yelled-or maybe 'roared' would be a better term- and ran towards him. Red and Purple hoped perhaps they'd kill him before he could destroy what little they had left.

But to their utter shock, they grabbed Zim and lifted him high in the air, laughing and yelling in excitement. Even Echo, Blue and _Fury_ -the latter dropped the big-headed human in the process- joined in. Zim himself seemed like he was in shock judging by how he was screaming, and not in glee like the Sobrekt.

As the group or Irkens stared agape at the scene, Ilk silently asked Lena to lift her up to her father's face and gently closed his jaw.

Seconds later Bob finally landed on top of a pile of snow, his burning rear releasing steam as it came into contact with the frozen water beneath him, making the table drone give a long sigh of relief. He noted the looks on his fellow Irkens.

"Did I miss something here?"

* * *

Sure, she _knew_ who Zim was, everybody in the Empire did. After all it wasn't easy to forget the Irken who caused a blackout on Irk when he was _four minutes old_ , caused a second blackout it a few years later and then ruined Operation Impending Doom I.

As for her case, she was in what could be called the 'gray area'. She didn't hate Zim blindly like the rest of the Irken race, but she didn't hold him on a pedestal either.

So when the Sobrekt started treating Zim like he was a sort of hero, she was stunned. She never thought anybody would actually admire the short little Defective.

"Those guys clearly need glasses…" Larb muttered, watching Zim being 'pampered' on the other side. Lena figured he either didn't like _not_ being the object of praise, didn't like _Zim_ being the object of praise, or a combination of both factors. And he wasn't the only one.

"I'm going to throw up." Purple muttered while clutching his stomach, though it was hard to tell if it was out of the DAS or he was very disgusted about Zim.

Lena was staring at the Sobrekt's side of the camp. Zim had relaxed considerably once he realized he wasn't being torn limb from limb and was being treated like he always thought he deserved. Currently he was seated on top of the _Ibris_ , sharing the 'tales of his countless victories' with his scaly audience.

"You know what this means, right?" Tenn was rubbing her arms and her antenna drooped. "The Armada never got the message, which means they _don't_ know we are here and given we have no way to contact them…"

Stink complained when his stomach started growled for the fifth time. "And those lizards didn't bring any food, I'm starving!"

"Maybe Zim could get them to bring us food." Skoodge suggested.

"What if we eat the big-headed hyooman? He doesn't look like he's going to wake up any soon."

"Eww, that's disgusting!"

"Is food all you lot of bottomless pits care about?! How are we getting out of here!"

"All of you, SHUT UP!"

Lena nearly jumped when suddenly Red snarled, getting on his feet and flattening his antenna against his head. He certainly looked pissed. The others-except Tallest Purple and Ilk, who were probably already used to these outbursts-jumped back on their seats as well, Bob even fell backwards.

"You just…! You don't let me think clearly! Just…!" With that he stomped off into the woods. _Weaponless._

Of course, Zim had to dip his spoon in. "My Tallest, should the amazing Zim escort you?"

"NO! Especially not by YOU, Zim!"

Lena couldn't believe he could hear Zim even from that far. She had noticed he and Purple didn't like Zim from catching one glimpse or two of their interactions during Zim's transmissions, but _this_ was a bit too much. And being the rational Irken that she was, something on the back of her _PAK_ urged her to find a logical explanation.

"I'm going to see if he's okay," she said getting on her feet, but Ilk grabbed her hand.

"Be careful. Dad can get a bit… explosive when he's at his limit," she warned. "Usually Uncle Pur would calm him down a bit first, but…" Ilk glanced at Purple, who had crossed his arms and was pouting like a little smeet.

Lena smiled and nodded, though she couldn't help but feel her squeedly-spooch squirm a bit. She had never seen either of her Tallest angry, at least not when _she_ was present. She _did_ hear about those days many random Irkens were thrown out of the airlock, though.

She followed Tallest Red's footprints into the woods, finding him a few meters away kicking whatever was in front of him, be it rocks, twigs or even small rodents. All the while he continued to curse Zim in Irken.

"My Tallest…?" she called, but he was so immersed in ranting he didn't hear her. "My Tallest!" she jumped when he abruptly turned around and yelled at the top of his lungs.

"WHAT?!"

Lena swore her heart almost jumped out of her chest. Red quickly noticed who he had just yelled at. "I'm sorry, Lena, I didn't…!" he brought his hand to his forehead and gave another frustrated sigh. "Oh, damn it..."

"That's okay…" Lena whispered, though it would be a bit longer before she got over the fright. He _really_ was scary when angry. "I wanted to see if you were alright."

Red started pacing. "Lena, don't take me wrong, but I think it's plainly evident I'm _not_ alright. _No one_ knows we are here, we have no way to contact the Armada, _no_ snacks, and the pièce de resistance: besides having to worry about the Sobrekt now I also have to deal with _Zim_ of all people!"

"Look it on the bright side, My Tallest. Perhaps he can be of help."

A snort. "Lena, you _don't_ know him like I do. Every time he tries to help, disaster follows. How do you think Operation Impending Doom I was ruined before it even began?"

It's pretty hard to forget when everybody is always talking about it, right? "But he did mention he came on a zhook-cruiser. That ship has more advanced equipment than the ring cutter, right? Perhaps there are salvageable parts we could use on the Sobrekt's ship and increase the chances of fixing it."

"That's…" Red blinked. "… not such a bad idea. The sooner I can get us all out of here, especially Ilk, the better."

Lena wondered if now would be a good time considering she just got unintentionally yelled at a few minutes ago. Oh, well. The sooner, the better. "Um, My Tallest… When I woke up I noticed I had your blanket on top of me… I wanted to... Thank you for it." To her surprise he smiled at her the same way he'd smile at Ilk. It made her heart-organ flutter.

"I just couldn't let our only doctor to get a cold," he said gently. "By the way, right now you don't have to call me 'Tallest'; Zim is going to annoy the heck out of me and Purple with that. You can call me Red."

Lena swore her cheeks had turned a deep shade of green-blue. "As you wish… Red." Even the mention of his name made her heart-organ soar.

Both their antenna twitched when they heard a noise coming from the woods. Damn it, good day to leave the weapons back at the camp. As the sound-it almost felt like footsteps-got louder, Red stood protectively in front of Lena; she wondered if he knew any sort of martial combat, considering he was disarmed yet he was willing to fight whatever was coming.

Much to both their shock, however, the life form that came out of the trees was no animal, but a… Okay, she had no idea what it was, but it was clearly sentient. It reminded her of the human Zim had brought along, but taller with silvery gleaming skin, long pointed ears and grayish dirty hair that might have been white was.

"Greetings!" he spoke with a surprisingly soothe voice.

"Who are you?" Red asked warily.

"Oh, right! Sorry, where are my manners?" the creature gave a sharp-toothed grin. "My name is Iraa. I didn't mean to scare you."

"That's curious considering you came out of nowhere without warning." Red pointed out, narrowing his eyes.

"Where are you from, by the way?" Lena asked. "As far as I know, this place is uninhabited."

"Alas, I crash landed here not long ago. I was looking around for firewood when I saw something falling from the sky. Did your ship crash around here too?"

Lena wasn't sure why, but there was something about this guy… She couldn't wrap her finger about it, but she had a bad feeling about him.

"What does it look like, pal? That we came here on a holiday?" Red told him bitterly.

"I see… I'm sorry for your plight, friend…"

"Don't call me that, you… what are you, by the way?"

"Me? Oh, I'm but a humble Hothian-"

"Okay. Don't call me that, _Hothian_. It's bad enough I have to interact with _Sobrekt_ on equal terms."

Lena was sure she saw a strange glint on Iraa's eyes when Red mentioned the Sobrekt. He merely offered another 'friendly' smile. "I see. Well, it was nice chatting with you, good sir, but I must be on my way. I have to get to my shelter before it gets dark. Hopefully we'll meet again."

 _Hopefully not._ Lena stared at Iraa as he left, her antenna wiggling.

"Um, Lena… would you mind releasing my arm? You're going to leave a mark…"

Lena blinked and noticed the tip of her claws were digging unto Red's arm. "Sorry!" She apologized, releasing it. "It's just… I have a bad feeling about that guy."

Red stared at the direction Iraa had disappeared into. "Me too."

A high pitched-scream followed by yells of fright and dismay coming from the camp caused them both to jump. As they rushed back, fearing the worst, they found a ruckus happening on the Sobrekt's side of the camp. Foxtrot was flailing his arms around while Zim was trying to pull something from his head. In turn, Blue was pulling on Zim's waist, and Echo on Blue's tail, while Captain and Masouri did the same with Foxtrot. Purple and the others were just watching and laughing, like those times they'd watch a comedy earthen-film.

"GETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFF!"

"I LOVE YOU, BIG VIOLET IGUANA!"

"GIR, RELEASE THE SOBREKT-BEAST RIGHT NOW!"

"WHAT IS THAT THING, ANYWAY?!"

"YOU'RE GOING TO TEAR OFF MY TAIL!"

Red's eye twitched. He wondered if it was possible to hang oneself with a branch.

* * *

He just couldn't believe it! _His_ indokuro had caught Zim the _Hitorken_! ZIM! What a honor! From what he had heard Zim wasn't easy to capture at all, he'd always destroy his captivity like an atomic bomb. It was hard not to hear things about him considering he already had quite the reputation.

Zim was held in high regard by his people. It might seem weird, but being very inclined to war and finding glee whenever their enemies were given a devastating blow from anywhere, _internal_ blows were considered the most admirable. Naturally since Zim had already given his own Empire quite the blows not once, but numerous times, he was a sort of hero to the Sobrekt.

He had to admit his personality was… not like he imagined, but his skills in mayhem and destruction probably were the cause.

"And that's how Zim brought down the hamster-beast all by himself!" the little Irken gloated.

"That's not what happened!" Oh, right. The mammalian alien-or hyooman, as Zim called that species-had awoken a little while ago, and immediately made it clear he was Zim's enemy. Naturally, he was tied up after the revelation.

"LIES!" Zim yelled at him.

The little metal menace from before- _Hitorken_ Zim called him GIR, his 'advanced' SIR unit-ran out of the _Ibris_ holding a plate filled with what seemed to be a dish consisting of green stuff and tiny balls of meat on top of a circular dough shape. "Guess who made tacos!"

Blue didn't have any idea of what those things were of, a sentiment shared by his teammates, but when they tried to decline GIR broke out into a hysterical fit of yelling, forcing the Sobrekt to take one 'taco' each and eat it.

Blue managed to distract GIR long enough to hide his own taco under the snow.

"Hey, Zim, since your SIR unit is wasting precious supplies in making disgusting earth food why don't you tell him to make us something _edible_ to eat!" Invader Larb yelled.

"Go get your own food, Larb!"

The purple tallest said. "Zim, I'm starving. Get me food."

"GIR, offer some 'tacos' to Tallest Purple!"

"I don't feel like having Earth food. I want something else."

Zim saluted. "As you wish, My Tallest!" Then he turned to Blue. "You, blue-lizard, go get the Tallest food!"

"Why don't _you_ get your own food, _Zim_?" the Dib-hyooman challenged, smirking. "Or what? You _can't_?"

"How dare you, Dib-Stink?! Zim is more than capable of providing for his Tallest! To prove it I shall lead the blue-lizard to find a suitable meal! Come along, blue-lizard and dog-lizard!"

Oh, Ancestors! Caught by his Indokuro only once and he already wanted to hunt with him! He must have given a good impression!

"Come on, _Fury_!" he called his Indokuro, who promptly rushed to him.

"Let's take Dib-stink so that he may witness Zim's amazing skills!"

GIR yelled happily. "Woohoo, we're going on a stroll through the woods like Snow White!"

Masouri whispered. "Captain, can I go?" he pouted when Captain mouthed a 'go back to fixing the ancestor-damned ship'. Blue had _Fury_ pick up the Dib-stink by the ropes to take him along. "Hey, wouldn't it be easier if you let me walk alongside you?" the hyooman inquired.

"So that you try to escape at the first chance?" Blue told him. "Not a chance."

"Ilk-smeet, would you like to join me?"

"No way! She's not going anywhere near that thing!" Tenn pointed at _Fury,_ earning a low growl.

"Besides, I doubt Tallest Red will take kindly that you took his daughter alongside _him_." Stink added. Blue could tell he was referring to him.

"Ha! The lizard-beasts shall not lay a hand on Ilk-smeet as long as she sticks close to me!"

"Any friend of Zim is a friend of ours!" Foxtrot clarified. Blue noted the expressions on the other Irkens' faces when he said this, particularly the purple Tallest's. Ilk got on her feet. "Well, in that case, perhaps I could lend them a hand."

"I insist it's not a good idea, Ilk," Tenn said. "I mean, can we really trust them to keep their word?"

"Sobrekt _always_ keep their word, Irken," Captain retorted, frowning. "You'd know that if you bothered getting to know a species instead of just enslaving them."

Blue noted the purple tallest's antennae were twitching, and he looked anxious. "Hey, what are you…?"

"Nobody move!" the purple Tallest jumped to his feet, his antenna moving almost frantically by then. "I'm smelling donuts!"

Zim seemed to remember something. "Ah, My Tallest!" he opened the compartment in GIR's head and took out a small white box with green dots _._ Blue managed to see some red words in a strange language written in red on top of it. "From your message I figured you were probably being deprived of your snacks by the Sobrekt-beasts," Blue and the others frowned at _Fury_. "So I decided to bring some of the snacks I was planning to send you. It's donuts from a popular brand named creepy crim-"

He hadn't finished the sentence when the purple Tallest technically lunged at him and snatched the box.

" _Thank you, Zim_! _I owe you one_!" he said in between devouring the doughnuts and talking.

* * *

_Five Minutes Later..._

Afterwards Zim had that goofy, ear-to-ear grin on his face as he led the small hunting group into the woods. Ilk didn't have the heart to tell him Uncle Purple had only reacted like that because of the _DAS_ ; he was always trying so hard to please him and dad that she figured it would be nice if he thought said attempts were finally bearing fruit, at least for a while.

Besides, it had been some time since she last saw him, GIR and Dib. Apparently, GIR had snuck unto Zim's shook cruiser after allowing Dib in. Zim was _not_ happy. GIR was supposed to stay back on Earth to feed Rexy (the tyrannosaurus rex he had cloned a-la- _Jurassic Park_ when she was just a smeet), but frankly she thought Mini-moose was a better choice for the job.

The intriguing thing was that GIR was _working_. Unlike the rest of the technology brought by both parties, GIR hadn't show any signs of being shutting down or malfunctioning... more than usual.

"So how's Earth?"

"As I was explaining earlier, my next plan involves infecting humans with germs through their white liquid food produced by cow mammary glands!"

"It's called milk!" Dib corrected and was ignored.

Blue looked rather… confused. "What are those 'mammary glands'?"

Zim shivered in disgust. "Apparently hyoomans need them to produce that white liquid for their smeets. Disgusting!" he pointed at Dib with a thumb. "Just ask Dib-beast about it."

"Hey, Dib-beast, do you have mammary glands?"

Ilk nearly burst out laughing when Dib's face turned red. She hadn't known humans could do that! "W-What do I know?! It's a girl-thing!" _Fury_ dropped him on the ground and lifted his head to sniff the air.

Seconds later his spines bristled and he ran off into the woods.

"Looks like _Fury_ found something," Blue announced quietly. "Let's go." He felt a tug on his clothing and looked down at GIR. "What is it?"

"Got any piggies?" GIR asked with the innocence of a child.

"What?" Blue winced when the little robot's cya eyes swelled up with tears.

"I miss piggy!"

Zim let out a frustrated groan and took out something from his PAK. A pink inflated balloon with a piggy face painted on it with black marker. "Here's your piggy, GIR." GIR snatched the piggy substitute and started dancing around with joy, lifting it up in the air.

Okay, this is getting awkward. Ilk quickly asked. "Does the indokuro do all the hunting for you?"

Though Blue didn't like what she was implying, he was grateful for the change in topic. "It really depends on the size of the prey. He can kill small and medium-sized critters by himself, but when there's big game involved he mostly wears it down and I deal the fatal blow."

"Where did you get a fucking indoraptor?" Dib asked. Blue and Ilk glanced at him, confused. "I'm talking about that thing!"

"He's an _indokuro_ , Dib-beast." Blue frowned.

"Well, he looks like an indoraptor."

"What's an indoraptor, by the way?" Ilk inquired.

"Oh, well, a few months ago a new movie came out…"

There was a loud roar up ahead. "Looks like _Fury_ has caught it," Blue licked his chops. "Let's go."

"Um, I'd rather stay behind, if you don't mind," Ilk said. "I don't want to see another carnage."

"Chill out, I'm not going to skin it until we go back to the camp. We still have to see how we're going to distribute it evenly. Besides, if it's too small we'll have to look for another one."

Just like Blue said (and leaving the talk about the 'indoraptor' pending for now), _Fury_ had taken down a mammal the size of an earth-cow (like Zim put it) and Blue didn't skin it. Thankfully it would be enough to feed them for the time being. Besides, Ilk figured they better get to camp soon; if dad came back and saw she wasn't there he'd probably have a panic attack.

"Onward, fury-beast! Let's take this meal to My Tallest!" Zim cried from the back of the indokuro, who for one reason or another didn't seem to mind, as _Fury_ dragged the animal with his jaws. Sadly, this slowed them down considerably. GIR was riding behind Zim, flailing up his arms and calling out 'pony ride'.

"I didn't know they could be ridden." Ilk commented, staring at him.

"Usually you can't unless he trusts you completely." Blue explained.

"Man, if my dad saw this he'd probably take a blood sample to clone him and create a new weapon." Dib commented.

"Sorry kiddo, but the patent, rights and genetic coding of the Indokuro are exclusive to the Sobrekt."

"Is that how your people call themselves? What else do you have? An indominus rex?!"

"A what now?"

Ilk's antenna twitched. She thought she heard shouting coming from the camp. Had dad finally returned? Was he yelling at the others for letting her come with Blue _and_ Zim?

She wasn't the only one. Dib also looked around. "Did you guys hear that?" Blue was similarly turning his head to the side slightly, his pupils gone to thin slits. The only one who seemed oblivious was Zim. "Why did you stop, fury-beast? My Tallest are hungry!"

A plasmashot. Then a battle roar... At least Ilk thought it was a battle roar, but it sounded more like a pained one.

"Was that a weapon?!"

"Something's happening!" Blue growled. " _Fury_ , leave the carcass and go help!" The indokuro did as told and ran into the woods, taking a very angry Zim and a excited GIR along.

Ilk didn't even have time to protest as Blue grabbed her by the hand and ran off, dragging her and Dib along. It almost felt as if they were flying, she had read the Kryvtors from Sobrekt were fast, but this was astounding. She heard a roar of pain coming from the camp.

" _FURY_!"

As soon as they ran into the clearing they were brought down by a sort of glowing blue netting that sent electric shocks through their bodies.

"Blue!"

"ILK!"

Once she recovered from the fall Ilk managed to see what was going on. Dad, uncle Pur, everyone was trapped by similar blue netting. When she tried to move, more shocks rendered her body immobile. _Fury_ and Zim were somehow still struggling to get free even though their net was continuously electrocuting them.

What caught her attention was the 'people' around them, all of them holding big smoking weapons that reminded her of bazookas. Their skins had grayish hues with silvery blonde hair, pointed ears and big eyes. Were they natives to this planet?

"What happened?!" Dib asked.

"Are you blind?!" Foxtrot snarled through grit teeth. "We were captured!"

"You know, maybe your reputation of being 'unmatched in combat' was exaggerated!" Bob retorted.

"We were caught off guard! Otherwise the situation would have turned out differently!" Captain defended his team. Ilk noted him clutching his stomach painfully. "Besides, I think those 'tacos' were overdue...!"

One of the natives snarled something in an unknown language, though he had probably told them to be quiet. Another stepped out of the _Ibris_ and said something that caused the rest to cheer.

" _You_." Dad narrowed his eyes at him.

"Greetings, friends," he said, referring to dad and Lena. Had they met before? "I'm sorry for the… unexpected visit, but I'm afraid we require your ship."

"OVER MY SCALY CORPSE!" Masouri yelled only to wince and whimper in pain, his arms wrapped around his abdomen.

"Masouri, stop moving!" Echo snarled at him.

"I'm not asking your permission. I'm telling you what will happen. We shall take you with us, and you _will_ fix the ship. Otherwise the consequences could be… disastrous."

"You think that scares us?" Captain snickered in between pained winces. "You clearly don't know who we are."

"Actually, I do," still smiling, the man revealed the incubator with the egg inside. The smug look on Captain's face vanished. "Let's make a deal: if you fix the ship for us, I will return this to you, unharmed."

* * *

To the group's shock, these natives had cargo ships that actually _worked_. With one glance, however, they could tell these were not made to leave the planet's atmosphere; they were small with few engines and lacked life support and artificial gravity systems.

The prisoners were divided in two groups: Ilk, Red, Lena, Blue, Captain, _Fury_ , GIR and Zim were put in one ship (much to Red's dismay), and the rest was put on a second one while a third would carry the _Ibris_ to… wherever they were going. The captives were put in holding cells inside the ships.

On board the first ship, Red, Lena and Ilk were locked into one cell. Blue, Captain and Zim were placed in the next one, and finally Fury was locked in the cargo hold. GIR was nowhere to be seen. Red was partly relieved he didn't have to share a cell with Zim, especially now that he was yelling empty threats at their captors. "I DEMAND YOU RELEASE ME FROM THIS CELL!"

Lena sighed. "Zim, I don't think they understand you, and even if they do they're not going to let us out."

"I don't get it, what do they want with us?" Ilk recalled the leader had addressed to her father as if they had met previously. She looked up at him. "Dad, did you know that guy?"

"He approached me and Lena when I was venting off." Red admitted rather sheepishly.

"Don't you think it would have been nice to tell us?!" Captain snarled. If there wasn't a wall separating their cells he'd be glaring right at him. At least the stomachache had passed.

"How was I supposed to know this guy had a whole crew with ships and all?!"

"That's the weird thing. How can this aircraft run _at all_ if technology doesn't work? At least neither of ours' did!" Blue pointed out."...Well, except for _Hitorken_ Zim's SIR."

"Well, we're _not_ going to find out inside this cell. We have to get out of here."

"ZIM IS GOING TO KILL YOU!"

Ilk spoke up. "Speaking of which, where is GIR?"

A sudden commotion coming from the cargo hold seemed to answer her question. _Fury_ emerged from the door seconds later, GIR flailing up on his back happily with a cowboy hat. "Woo-hooo! Look, mastah, I'm a cowboy!"

" _Fury_ , over here!" Blue called him and petted his neck when he came closer. "Good boy. Now go find a way to open the door!"

"GIR, go with the fury-beast and get me out of here!" Zim snapped at the little robot, who seemed to go into duty mode for a few seconds, responding "Yes, sir!" with a salute before going back to 'GIR' mode and whooping in excitement.

Red scoffed as soon as the indokuro and the malfunctioning SIR went through the opposite door. "You expect me to think that creature and that robot will be smart enough to know _that_?"

"Ah, genetic engineering can do wonders," Captain snickered. He even spared the tall Irken a knowing glance. "Of course, _you_ would know about it."

If only anger was enough to break the bars, Red's grip would have snapped them in two by then. Ilk noticed the tone in Captain's voice and her father's reaction to it. Was there a hidden meaning behind it? Now that she thought about it, they gave the impression that they knew each other from before.

Screaming coming from the bridge, a loud smash and violent shaking from the ship later the lock on the cell doors opened, letting them know _Fury_ and GIR had been successful. But the ship's lights had turned a reddish hue and it had inclined diagonally, as if it were…

Blue and Zim cried in unison. "No, he didn't!"

They were the first to dart through the door that would lead to the bridge with the others in hot pursuit, coming across either unconscious or dead bodies in their wake. Their fears were confirmed when they saw _Fury_ in the bridge right next to the monitor with sparkling claw marks across it and GIR dancing on top of it holding sparking cables in his hands. "Look, mastah! I found electric worms!"

Uh-oh.

"GIIIIR!" Zim yelled in a mixture of anger and horror.

"Destroying the main console? Wow, how _smart_ indeed." Red snarled sarcastically.

Captain growled and struck his closed fist against the useless console. "Forget about that! We'll have to get off the ship!"

"In case you haven't noticed this ship is hundreds of meters up in the air moving at 60 kilometers per hour!"

"Then I guess you'd rather go down with it?!"

GIR lost interest in the wires and went towards a _very_ familiar crate, picking up a Captain's katana. "Mastah, can we play with this toy swords?! I wanna be Samjack!"

To the Irkens' dismay, though, their lasers and guns were not there, only the Sobrekt's old-fashioned weapons, which Blue and Captain rapidly seized (though it took Captain a few seconds to convince GIR to return the katana). Blue quickly took a look at the parts of the console that were _not_ destroyed by _Fury_ 's claws and pressed a button.

 **Warning** _._ **Cargo door open. Decompression imminent.**

Lena panicked. "What are you doing?!"

"Like I said, we have to get off this ship before it crashes!" Captain growled right back as he ran past them and towards the back of the ship, followed by Blue and _Fury._

"What do we do?!"

Zim was randomly pressing whatever button he could find to no avail. "My Tallest, the lizard-beasts were right when they said the controls are inoperable now!"

"Great, what do we do now?!"

"Why don't we go with them?!"

"Lena, you can't be serious!"

The ship shook violently again.

"Dad, it's not like we have any other choice! They have the only available weapons!"

Red was pretty certain he was going to hate himself in the morning ( _if_ they made it to the morning, that is), but he relented. What did they have to lose?

The cargo hold was a literal whirlwind. A violent gust of air was sucking whatever wasn't stuck to the ground hurling outside; Red and Zim barely had time to grab Ilk's arms as she was nearly dragged by the air force.

"About time!" Captain called from nearby the open door. He and Blue were holding unto _Fury_ 's body while the indokuro used his claws and all his weight to cling to the metal flooring.

"So what's your plan?!" Red yelled over the whistling air.

"We're close to the ground level! We have to jump NOW!"

By then Zim had picked Ilk up bridal style, much to the latter's dismay. "I shall carry Ilk-smeet to safety, My Tallest!"

"Zim, I can jump by myself!" she protested.

Too late. With a loud scream Zim had jumped off the platform and both were blown out of the ship, soon followed by the Sobrekt and GIR. "ILK!" Red would have jumped after them, but he recalled he wasn't alone. He glanced at Lena. She looked frightened. Irk, he was freaking out too, but one of them had to keep their head.

He grabbed her hand and squeezed it assuringly. Lena glanced at him, gulping, and nodded. He returned the nod.

Closing their eyes shut, they jumped off the ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things don't look good now that the group has been separated. Wonder what these guys want. And how come their vehicles do work?
> 
> I used the name 'Hothians' as a reference to the planet at the beginning of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi because this planet is also very cold, but there's also more to it.
> 
> Next Chapter: Ilk's party plans out their next step. Meanwhile, Iraa's captives must plan their own strategy without strangling each other first.
> 
> See you next time!


	7. Truce

Red had to admit, he half-expected to break all his bones, if not die.

To his painful surprise the fall only lasted about six seconds before the thin bulk of his body came into contact with the snow. Both he and Lena landed and rolled down a bit further down. The inertia and gravity of the fall (plus the bonus throbbing pain) prevented them from even trying to stop.

The only reason they didn't fall off the cliff a few meters down was that Captain somehow managed to catch up to them and grab them by the collars of their clothing just as they were about to fall.

The ship fell down into the valley and exploded.

"And to think _that_ could have been _you_." Captain muttered as he placed both Irkens back on the solid ground.

"Ouch…" Red grit his teeth in pain. Every single body part hurt. "Lena, are you alright?"

"I think so…" Lena said in-between heavy panting. "Ow… It's going to hurt even worse in the morning."

Captain snorted. Irkens and their soft hides. "Get over it, what matters is that you're still alive and breathing."

"How can you even stand after falling from a fucking ship at sixty kilometers per hour?!"

"I'm a Sobrekt. All my life I've been trained to grow accustomed to pain, plus I've got a thick scaly hide."

A few meters away GIR was lying on the snow making a strange shape with his arms and legs; really, was that robot as indestructible as Zim? Speaking of Zim, he landed a few steps away, still holding Ilk in his arms, but to Red and Lena's surprise instead of falling down like they had he had used the jets from his _PAK_ to hover down. Then they remembered _his_ PAK hadn't been touched by the Sobrekt virus.

"Success!" Zim cried in delight.

"Huh, Zim, would you mind putting me down?" Ilk said awkwardly, her cheeks red. She had never been held in such a way. "This is getting weird."

"Ilk!" Red was instantly on his feet-he _did_ feel his legs and lower body ache in protest, however,-and rushed over to take Ilk in his arms. "Are you okay, sweetie?!"

If it was even possible, her cheeks had turned even redder. "Dad, not in front of everybody…" She changed her mind when Blue and overall _Fury_ approached. "Nevermind."

"Are you okay?" Blue asked.

"Of course we're not okay!" Lena growled, giving the kryvtor a fulminating glare. "We're in the middle of nowhere with no food, no tools thanks to _your_ virus, and now the others are being held captive by… by… whoever those people were!"

"That Iraa guy said he was a Hothian."

"Thanks, Red. By the Hothians!"

"And how is that our fault?" Captain asked with a frown of his own.

"Are you kidding me?!" Red snarled at him, holding Ilk closer. "If YOU hadn't taken Lena and Ilk in the first place, we wouldn't be here!"

Captain laughed humorlessly. "HA! Look who's talking! If YOU and your purple friend hadn't _stolen_ our sacred flower, NONE of this would have ever happened!"

"What?" Shit. He had forgotten Ilk didn't know about the flower. She was shifting her confused glance between him and Captain. "What are you talking about?"

"Ah, so he hasn't told you?" Captain chuckled. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Tell me what?"

"Will you tell her? Or should I do so?"

"Shut your bifid tongue, lizard," Red growled, glaring darkly at the Sobrekt. "I am her father, _I_ will tell her."

"My tongue is not bifid, Irken. I'm a crocodile, not a snake." Captain stuck out his tongue to make emphasis. Indeed, it looked nothing like a serpent's.

Great, now came the hard part. "Would you mind giving us some privacy?"

Lena and Zim were the first to take some further steps away. Captain and Blue had to be pushed further away by _Fury_ , protesting as to why he was agreeing to that if he was supposed to be on _their_ side.

"Dad, what did he mean…?" Ilk remembered her friend through _Spacebook_ , a screwhead named Smikko (his name is actually longer, but it isn't relevant for the time being) mentioning something about a flower a few years ago…

 _Apparently two Invaders stole a sacred flower from Sobr. Ever since, the Sobrekt have been_ _ **very**_ _pissed at the Irken Empire._

"Wait a minute… The invaders who stole that flower… It _did_ happen?"

With a heavy sigh, Red gently placed Ilk on the ground and sat down. Ilk didn't need a sign to know he wanted her to sit as well.

For a moment he didn't say anything, but eventually he started talking. "When you were a smeet you got _very_ ill. Drilo's disease. You were especially susceptible because you lacked a _PAK_. That illness was very rare and the only way to cure it was with the Moondrop Flower. Purple and I…" Red closed his eyes. "…We had no choice but to steal it."

Ilk just stared up at her father without saying a word. This explained _why_ the Sobrekt were after her, _why_ they had begun a war against the Empire. But she couldn't really judge what dad and uncle Pur did; they had been willing to steal from one of the most violent species and start a war in order to save _her_ life.

Ilk guessed it was fair if she was honest too. "I guess this explains why I can't seem to get hurt."

Red looked down at her curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Have noticed that when I supposedly get injured I don't have any scratches on me? They all heal quickly and close off in a few seconds."

"Wait… Ilk, aren't you mad?"

"How can I be mad? You were willing to do that for me, even though because of it the Sobrekt are pissed."

"Vocabulary, young lady." Both laughed a bit, before Red smiled at her. "I'd do anything for you. You know that, right?"

Ilk nodded hugged him by the waist. "I know, dad."

And of course, Captain had to ruin the moment. "Hey, if you two are done bonding we have to get going!"

"Go where?" Lena pointed out. "We have no idea where we are exactly and we didn't see in which direction the other ships went."

"Actually, doc, I managed to take something from the enemy ship before I saved Ilk-smeet!" Zim brought out a tablet of some sort from his _PAK_. It was made of the same metal from the enemy ship. It was currently showing a map of the surrounding area with a particular rectangular shape a few kilometers away from their position.

Blue laughed. "Ha! Good job, _Hitorken_ Zim!"

"Don't give him ropes…" Red muttered, rubbing his temple. Now he'd never hear the end of it. What did _Hitorken_ mean, anyway? Obviously it wasn't an insult, and even if it were Zim probably wouldn't notice.

The little defective snickered. "Indeed, Zim is amazing!"

Red snatched the tablet from Zim and took a look at it. "Okay, if my hunch is right then this shape must be their base," he traced a straight line from the base to their current position (leaving a drawn green line), marked by a yellow spot. "And we are here, on top of a cliff."

"Really, captain obvious?" Captain asked with a roll of his eyes, but the comment caused the Irken leader, along with Ilk, Lena and GIR, to snicker. "What's so funny?" Heck, even Blue looked like he was trying not to laugh. Zim merely blinked, looking as puzzled as Captain.

" _Captain_ obvious!" Red snorted and finally burst into a small fit of laughter. Oh, sweet Irk, if only Purple had heard it! "Did you get it? You just made a fool of your own name!" It took a few seconds, but when Captain finally figured out what just happened, his spines bristled and he snatched the map from Red, muttering something. If Sobrekt could blush his face would have matched Red's own eyes.

"Alright, if you're done laughing at me let's see what to do next before we freeze up here," he snarled, setting the map to show the topography and terrain. "If this information is correct, we are on top of a cliff overlooking the canyon in which the base is located. There are two ways down from here: either we walk along the edge until we reach a smoother escarpment to walk down, or we climb down directly from here."

"Easy, we are taking the escarpment." Red said.

"Excuse me?"

"I said we are taking the escarpment."

"I heard that, what I mean is who put _you_ in charge?"

"Oh, I guess _you_ should be in charge then?"

Zim joined in. "Or _Zim_ could be in charge!" _Over my corpse_ , Red thought.

"Guys, now's not the time for that!" Lena snapped, though she was directing her recriminating gaze at Captain. There was no way she'd glare at her Tallest, for Irk's sake, even though when sometimes he _did_ deserve it. "We should settle this in a peaceful way!"

"I suggest that the leaders of both respective parties settle their differences with a small game to pick the winner's option." All present people stared went to GIR, whose eyes had turned crimson for a few seconds, before going back to the normal cyan. "SNOWBALL FIGHT!"

"Is it me or did GIR just had a... not so bad idea?" Zim whispered as he watched his robot chase after _Fury_ with a gargantuan snowball in both hands.

Red muttered under his breath so that Zim wouldn't hear him. "Just when I thought that piece of garbage couldn't be more crazy." Why is that defective SIR unit still working, now that they're on it? He _did_ have to admit that suggestion wasn't bad.

"Well, any game in particular?" Blue inquired, crossing his arms. "It's not like a tailless Irken can settle it the old-tailored way."

Lena guessed they'd have to save the question of that the old-tailored way implied. "What do _you_ suggest then?"

Ilk recalled the humans had a kind of mini-game to sort these things out. "Hey, dad, remember the 'stone, paper, scissors' game?"

Oh, right! That could work! Yeah. The only pain in the squeedly-spooch would be to explain to Captain how it worked. Two people would make one of three shapes with one hand: rock(closed fist), paper (flat hand) and scissors (fist with two fingers forming a V-sign). Rock beats scissors, scissors beat paper and paper beats rock.

The hard part for Captain, though, was to tell which sign Red was making, considering he only had two long spindly fingers. He mistook the paper for the scissors twice. Then he pointed out that chopping off your thumbs was counterproductive and made grip on certain objects difficult to impossible, and Red retorted that it meant he was more than capable of ruling his Empire without such an important finger.

Eventually they managed to make a decent round without Captain mistaking Red's signs: unfortunately for the latter, Captain made a rock and beat his scissors.

"Okay, now that we've settled it, let's go look for that escarpment."

Red blinked. "Wait, what?"

"I said we should get going and find that escarpment. Should I write it down for you?"

"You mean that you intended to go look for that escarpment all along?!"

Captain rolled his eyes. "What did you think, Irken? We don't have any tools to climb down, and even if we did the rock is probably slippery from so much ice."

"Let me get this straight," Red hissed venomously, flattening his antenna against his head. "We've wasted half an hour here playing a stupid game because you didn't agree with _my_ decision of going down the escarpment, and now you tell me that you intended to do precisely _that_?!"

"Yeah, that's right."

He had no idea what was spiting him the most: the fact that they wasted precious time playing for nothing, or that Captain seemed indifferent about it. "THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SO FROM THE BEGINNING?!"

Captain was quiet for a few seconds before turning around and walking off, followed by Blue and _Fury_. " _You never asked_."

In a sad twist of irony, somehow Zim _did_ understand what Captain just did and burst out in a fit of laughter, leaving Red with his jaw hanging open and an eye twitching. This time it was Lena who had to gently close it.

* * *

_Hothian Base._

The Hothians' base, if it could be called as such at all, wasn't that much impressive. It was big and whatever half run-down piece of technology they had _did_ work, they'd give them that, but as just mentioned it was in a deep state of disrepair in most areas. Even the area they were locked in wasn't much to brag about, really. It was a big room with only one old bed, a few lights and no windows.

"Hey, when do we get fed?!" Larb complained, banging on the door. "We didn't get to eat!"

"And where's Red and doctor Lena?!" Purple had joined in. "And Ilk! Why didn't you bring them?!"

Skoodge quickly pointed out. "What about Zim?"

"Who cares about Zim?! He can turn into a popsicle for all I care!"

Echo frowned, coughed a few times reflexively because of the even thicker air, and leaned against the wall. "You seem to forget _Hitorken_ Zim brought you snacks."

Oh, shit. He had completely forgotten about _that_. How embarrassing. Then again, when he's under the _DAS_ effect he could say or do things he'd never do in his whole mental faculties. What did _Hitorken_ mean, by the way? Was it a Sobr nickname of some sorts? "Hey, what does itorcem mean, now that we're on it?" Stupid name.

"It's _Hitorken_ , and it means _one-irken army_." Foxtrot translated.

The Irkens exchanged glances. Yup, sounds like Zim alright. "And how do you say egomaniac in Sobrekt?" Larb inquired.

"Seriously, we're being held captive by whoever those people are with no idea what they are going to do with us and all you care about is a silly name?" Dib growled. Was he the only one who took the situation seriously or what?

"Nobody asked you, hyooman!"

"He _does_ have a point!" Masouri pointed out. "They want us to fix the _Ibris_ , alright," he took a pause to curse those thieves in Sobrekt (which reminded Dib and Purple of a velociraptor's shrieks and calls). "But what are they going to do with it afterwards? What will they do with _us?_ "

"Plus, if they have their own ships, why do they want _that_ one in particular?" Stink added.

"Or why _their_ freaking ships work at all?!" Bob finished.

Purple couldn't help it, but _that_ sound was annoying the heck out of him! Not the arguing, he was pretty used to it. It was that damn tapping noise the Kryvtors did with that big talon claw of theirs. He had no idea why they did it, but it was irritating! "Would you knock it off?!" he snapped after two minutes.

Masouri cocked his head to one side and tapped his claw. "Stop what?"

" _That!_ That stupid sound with your stupid claw!"

Masouri looked down at his talon. "Oh, you mean this?" he tapped his claw again.

Grrr! It almost felt like he was doing it on purpose just to spite him. "Yes! Stop doing that!"

Foxtrot seemed to catch on and joined his friend in tapping the ground with his claw. "Why should we?"

"Almighty Tallest Purple has given you an order, lizard!" Larb growled.

"He's not _our_ leader, we don't have to obey him."

Tenn got in a fighting position. Her own antennae were twitching. The tapping _was_ annoying. "Don't make us make you!"

Echo bared her teeth and spread out her claws. "I'd like to see you try, Irken."

That was it.

"WOULD YOU KNOCK IT OFF?!" Dib yelled at the top of his lungs (though he quickly regretted it when this caused his lungs to hurt a bit). The last thing they needed was to fight amongst each other when they were in the enemy's hands. He didn't flinch when all eyes set on him; he was pretty used to attention of this kind from tying to expose Zim and being regarded as 'crazy'. "Yeah, you can tell me 'it's not my business' later, but you _will_ listen to me! You're all acting like… whatever you call your young!"

"Smeets."

"Hatchlings."

"Thank you. You're all acting like smeets and hatchlings! Instead of bickering and fighting amongst one another we should be at least try and pretend to cooperate for all of _our_ sakes! I get it, you hate each other, but right now your main concern should be how to get out of this!"

There was an awkward silence afterwards as his words sunk in. The tapping sound stopped, thank Irk, but the same couldn't be said from the short coughing coming from the Kryvtors and dictionally, Dib. Wordless glances between groups were exchanged. They hated to admit it, but the hyooman _did_ have a valid point. Besides, both groups had missing members they were worried about.

"Why don't you make a temporary truce? From what I heard you had already made one before we were brought here, right? Once we're all back home safe and sound you can go back to being mortal enemies. What do you say?"

Seconds later Purple got to his feet and warily took a few steps towards the kryvtors. After a bit of bickering Foxtrot was pushed forward; their official-in-command and the one kryvtor who could be called the unofficial second-in-command were missing, so they needed a substitute.

"I hate to admit it, but the hyooman is right." Purple muttered.

Foxtrot twitched the tip of his tail. "At least that's something we can both agree on."

"In that case…" Purple kept a straight face. Red wasn't here and he had to be the leader the others needed, if only to keep his reputation intact. He stretched out an arm; it was just a formality. He and Red had shook hands with the leader of the Planet-Jackers when the treaty was made official. He never thought he'd ever do it with a Sobrekt, though. Their diplomatic relation was not at its best.

Foxtrot stared at the three-fingered hand for a few seconds before holding out his… tail.

"What's the meaning of this?" Purple asked, trying not to sound too offended. Yet.

"We don't like to do much physical contact," Foxtrot explained. "The only part of our bodies we allow others to touch is the tip of our tails under certain circumstances, such as this one." Dib, of course, only heard clicking sounds, growls and croons coming from the kryvtor, so Bob was nice enough to translate the issue for him.

Purple stared at the tip of the tail with the lavender feathers, uncertain. Would they get offended if he refused to touch it? Oh well, the sooner he was done with the issue, the better. Reaching out his hand tentatively, he grabbed a featherless part of the tail, shook it and then released it. Once he was back on the other side he made sure to wipe his hand unto Skoodge when the Kryvtors weren't looking.

The tapping started again. "Oh, for crying outloud!"

* * *

_Somewhere in the wilderness..._

Okay, it's now official. Red _hated_ Captain.

It wasn't just the humiliation, even though that was bad enough already. It seemed as though he had self-appointed himself the leader after their little 'game of doom', and of course Red wasn't going to let that happen. He'd rather freeze in this Irk-forsaken planet than take orders from a Sobrekt, especially _him_.

He also detested the fact that Zim was given more consideration than him, Ilk or Lena. The fucking Indokuro even allowed him on his back like an irkorse alongside that not-so-advanced robot made from trash! So while Red, Lena and Ilk had to walk, Zim and GIR got to ride on _Fury_ like children on a pony. Zim was also allowed to keep the map and guide them through the terrain when GIR didn't momentarily take it to play a game or try to eat it. Red had protested, of course, Zim was capable of sending them walking off a cliff or into the jaws of something, but he was ignored.

Red still made sure to take peeks at the map to make sure they weren't walking to their doom.

"When are we going to stop?" Ilk asked. Her stomach had been growling for the past half hour. They hadn't gotten a chance to eat.

"She has a good point, Captain," Blue said. "We have not eaten and we need _all_ the energy we can get."

Captain saw through the undercurrent sugarcoating. He knew what he was talking about. _And_ he was hungry. "Alright, how about we stop for the night?"

"About time!" Zim cried from atop _Fury_ 's back. "Zim is hungry!"

"Waffles!" GIR joined in.

Red crossed his arms. "And just _where_ are we going to stop? Starting up a fire in the middle of a treeless field with nowhere to hide is not precisely smart."

"Are you going to keep looking for any excuse to complain? Because if you are, you can go find your own meal."

"Hey, don't talk to Almighty Tallest Red in such a manner, sobrekt-beast!" Zim snapped.

For the first time ever Zim had _actually_ done something right. Captain's temperament seemed to soothe down forcibly afterwards. Red was surprised he didn't snap at Zim or show any signs of being mad at him for that. Captain _did_ take what he said into account, though.

They found what seemed to be an abandoned settlement of some sorts with primitive houses of brick and wood. Evidently whoever lived here hadn't gone past the stone age before leaving. On the good side, the interior of the homes-or 'dens', as Red put it, refusing to call such a retrograde lair a house-were devoid of snow and had a slightly warmer temperature because of it.

While _Fury_ , Blue and Captain went hunting, Red, Lena, Ilk, Zim and GIR stayed behind at the stone 'den' to start a small bonfire. Of course, Zim had to be sent away with the excuse of looking for something to keep him from blowing the whole ghost town up, while GIR just tagged along with him to go look for 'cheese'.

"Stupid crocodile…" Red muttered as he threw another dry stick at the fire.

"Well, he _did_ have a point, dad. You didn't really ask his opinion." Ilk pointed out.

"Why should we ask what he thinks? We're Irkens, we don't go around fraternizing with inferior species."

"Red, right now's not the time for _that_ ," Lena said. "We have to save the others."

"I know… But he's so….! You have no idea of how much I'd like to blow him up for making me look like a fool!" He was partly glad Purple hadn't witnessed the exchange, or he would have never heard the end of it. Oh, once he was back on the _Massive_ he'd _so_ hunt that crocodile down and blow him up.

Ilk narrowed her eyes. "Dad, you're not thinking of blowing him up when we go back, are you?"

"Of course I'm not, Ilk!"

"Dad."

"... Can you blame me for wanting to get even?"

"If you want to get even we can give you a tip," Lena smirked. "But no blowing up."

"Can you?"

"Turns out the Sobrekt do not like their meat cooked."

Half an hour later Captain and Blue returned, dragging one of the bison-like creatures from before. When asked about _Fury_ 's whereabouts, Blue explained he had gone hunting for his own meal. Indokuro always fed themselves. They left the meat inside and went back outside to 'do something useful with the fur'.

However, Blue soon sniffed the air when he felt like something was burning coming from…

"What is it?" Captain asked. Whenever he sniffed the seemingly toxin-tainted air, it meant there was something funny going on.

"Captain, don't panic, but the meat…"

The words 'panic' and 'meat' did it. Captain dropped the skin and rushed back inside to find all his juicy red pieces of meat had been cooked to a dry, deep brown.

It took Red all of his willpower to keep himself from bursting out into laughter when he saw Captain's face. "Want some meat?" he asked, lifting a well-cooked thigh on a stick.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Captain snatched the stick and examined the meat, completely and utterly horrified. "You've ruined it!"

"How exactly did we ruin it?" Lena stated. "Raw meat has a lot of bacteria and potential parasites, you could get food poisoning."

"Just because your softie Irken stomachs can't handle it didn't give you right to ruin MY meat!"

Red merely shrugged and took a bite from his cooked piece of meat. He was going _so_ going to enjoy this. Captain just sat down near the fire with a deep frown and crossed arms, refusing to even look at the meal while Red enjoyed every second of it. Blue didn't protest about the cooked meat, though he _did_ look bothered.

 _Fury_ , Zim and GIR finally returned a few seconds later. When _Zim_ saw the meat, he screamed and ran to put himself in a fetal position.

"What's wrong, Zim?" Blue asked.

"GET THAT MEAT AWAY FROM ZIM!"

"Earth-meat for some reason fuses to Irken skin and burns it." Red said. He couldn't contain a chuckle when he recalled the time Zim was covered in meat and nearly went blind. Oh, that had been _hilarious_!

GIR had no apparent problem with the meat and just grabbed a piece of burned off leg to chomp on; those who didn't know the little robot wondered how the hell he was _eating_ at all.

"Captain, you should eat. You need the energy."

Lena and Ilk exchanged a look. Why were they always emphazising the word 'energy'? It seemed to snap Captain out of his tantrum and he started eating, though he did grumble every now and then about the meat being dry and tasting like rubber. Red snickered internally.

After dinner, if it could be called as such, Blue was decent enough to share some of the furry hand-made 'blankets' because Captain didn't look like he had any intention to do so. The crocodile instead started to check on the weapons they had retrieved from the ship.

"So what's next?" Lena asked. "Do we have any plan?"

"We go to that base, save the others and kill the bastards." Captain said, sharpening his long black katana-like blade.

"That's not a plan, that's a wish," Red frowned. "A proper plan would be a strategy."

Ilk decided to change the subject before they started with one of their childish arguments again. "So how do we distribute the weapons?"

"Excuse me?"

"How are we going to distribute the weapons."

Blue and Captain exchanged a glance. The latter frowned. "You think we are going to give you our _comrades_ ' weapons?" He growled deeply. "We don't give our blades to just anyone, especially to a species who is known for stabbing in the back."

"If you're talking about Operation Impending Doom II, get over it." Red rolled his eyes.

Lena hated to admit it, but Captain _had_ a point. They had every right to be wary about giving them weapons. But she and Red couldn't afford to be weaponless in such an hostile environment. The Sobrekt were reasonable enough to see that, right? However, she could tell that asking nicely wouldn't work with them.

"Listen, you two," Lena spoke in a firm voice, getting to her feet and walking over to Captain to look at him directly in the eyes; she knew enough about Sobrekt culture to know such a gesture was seen as a challenge amongst their people. "We are in an unknown planet filled with hostile people and Irk knows what else. If you know Irkens well, then you realize we cannot defend ourselves without our _PAK_ s, which are useless right now thanks to _you_.

You cannot expect us to completely depend on you for protection. I have the feeling you do not like acting as 'babysitters', am I right?" his pupils turning into thin slits told her what she needed to know. "Who says we won't get separated at some point for one reason or another? If that were the case, we'll need someway to keep ourselves alive, don't you think? Whether you like it or not, we're together in this!" She took a small glance at Ilk. "Besides, unless my memory fails me, you're supposed to take Ilk to your leader in one piece, am I right?"

Red stared at her agape. What was she thinking? However, Captain's expression seemed to suggest she had pressed the right buttons.

The nerve of the Irken…! How dare she talk to him in such a way? Didn't she realize he could rip her head off her shoulders with his bare hands? He _could_ do it in that moment if he wished. _But_ he had to give her credit for having the courage to actually speak her mind. Not many could bring themselves to do so considering his people were intimidating and had a reputation to match.

Captain looked down at the available weaponry: his own katana _Nekusarai_ , Blue's _Konazher_ blade, Masouri's butterfly swords, Echo's sai blades, Foxtrot's twin swords and a plasma gun. To the Sobrekt people their weapons were more than just self-defense tools; they were part of the individual in question, each blade was uniquely customized according to the warrior's fighting style and personality. To lose or break it was a bad omen.

And lending it was out of the question unless the person who asked for it proved to be both worthy enough to wield a part of the warrior and trustworthy enough. Irkens lacked those two factors (except for Zim).

However, Lena was right. He didn't want to be their babysitter (Ilk was the only exception, and the great Zim could certainly take care of himself), and there was the possibility their already small-group separating, be it by accident or otherwise.

"... Let me consult it with the pilllow."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had so much fun writing the interaction between Red and Captain. It almost reminded me of an old married couple. I'll certainly enjoy more of these scenes.
> 
> Sobrekt fact: kryvtors have a long claw on their feet similar to the velociraptors from JW. When stressed or thinking, they unconsciously tap this claw to relieve stress, but this can get annoying to others, especially Purple. XDXD.
> 
> Next chapter: Red and Ilk receive some lessons from the Sobrekt with a surprising outcome.


	8. Patience 101

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everybody, here we are at the eighth chapter! Just like before, I had lots of fun making some of the interactions between the characters and I hope you will enjoy it.  
> And now, on with the chapter!

_The 'ghost town', Next Morning..._

"Wake up, Irken-scum!"

Ilk was the first to be startled awake when Captain's booming voice resounded throughout the house, soon followed by her father's groan. "You have the kidding me…"

"Huh…?" Lena rubbed her eyes and slowly rose up, snapping a few bones in the process.

Zim screamed and jumped off his tiny piece of fur-bed.

GIR... didn't even flinch and continued to sleep with loud but small snores.

Captain was on the doorframe, leaning against the door and tapping the tip of his tail impatiently. "If I am to lend you weapons, I have to make sure you will know how to use them."

"Do you have any idea of what time it is?!" Red growled.

"No, I don't. You better hurry before I change my mind!" That being said, Captain went back outside.

Red so wanted to go back to sleep, but he was certain Captain _would_ change his mind about lending them the weapons. Besides, it might be a good chance to learn how Sobrekt weapons worked. If he liked them he might commision his own for self-defense methods. Though lately he preferred laser guns and long-range weapons, in the Academy he was pretty adept at close combat.

After eating the leftovers from yesterday's meat-the smaller amount let them know Captain and Blue had already eaten-, the Irkens made their way outside, where Blue was taking a look at the laid out weapons. Probably making sure they had enough sharpness.

"Before anything else, I'm letting you know they are just _borrowed_ ," Blue narrowed his eyes. "You better give them back in one piece or I'm cutting off your hands."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Before Red could go pick one of the swords, Captain stopped him.

" _Hitorken_ Zim gets to choose first."

Red didn't complain, but he _did_ glare at the grinning defective in contempt as he went and picked one of the twin swords. It was considerably long and big and yet Zim somehow managed to lift it in his thin little arms. How long would it be before he chopped somebody's limbs?

"Hahaha! Fear the almighty Zim!" Zim went towards the group of trees and started cutting through the wood. How did he know how to activate the laser blades? He turned out to be surprisingly skilled at it.

"Ah, _that's_ mastery." Captain sighed almost dreamily.

Red's eye and left antenna twitched. _Somebody give this crocodile a clue._ Lena picked the dual sai (or _Dusazu*_ , as the Sobrekt call it) for being the most lightweight. Red was torn between the remaining twin sword and the butterfly swords. His specialty in the Academy had been with short-blades, but Ilk wasn't strong enough to carry a longsword.

With that in mind he grabbed the other sword. Damn it, he could already hear Zim. _Ah, my Tallest, so you picked the same weapons as me? I'm glad you were impressed by Zim's amazing swordsmanship skills!_ He also took the laser gun, thank you very much. It was his, actually.

Ilk grabbed the handles of the butterfly swords. They were a bit heavy, but she could handle it. Hopefully.

Once there were no more weapons on the ground, Captain took a few steps away. "Alright, now that you've picked your… borrowed blades, come along so I can give you a quick tutorial as to how to use them without chopping your fingers off."

"I don't need lessons from you, lizard." Red said with a frown.

"That's a curious claim considering you're not holding the sword right," Captain pointed at Red's hands around the handle. "Your grip is too weak."

"You try to hold something with only two fingers."

"More of a reason _you_ need the lesson more than anyone here," Captain glanced at Blue. "You teach the smeet how to wield the _Dukiva*_."

Blue responded with a salute and a stamping on the ground with his tail."Yes, sir."

"What about Lena?" Ilk inquired.

"It's okay, I'll just stay here and take a look at…" Lena looked down at the sai in her hands. "These."

The group momentarily splat up, with Captain leading Red to a more open area just outside the ghost town. Once there he unsheathed his _Nekusarai*_ and turned around to face Red. "Come at me."

Red blinked. "What?"

"Attack me with all you've got."

"Didn't you say you were going to-?"

" _Come at me_."

Oh, well, he has been wanting to hurt him since day one, anyway. Red lifted the sword and ran towards Captain, but his blow was effortlessly blocked. With a yell of frustration he struck again, but no matter his moves or speed Captain calmly blocked his attacks until he made one swift movement that sent the sword flying from Red's hand and to the ground.

"Your grip on the sword is too weak. You are impatient, rash and you let your emotions blind you, especially anger."

Red scoffed. "What? You can tell me all that just from watching me fight with the sword?"

Captain chuckled dryly. "You'd be surprised in how many things a person's swordplay can tell you about them," he retrieved the sword from the ground and gave it back to Red. "It seems you _do_ know the basics, however."

"I was at the top of my class in the Academy, in case you're wondering."

"None of your opponents were Sobrekt, Irken. Your people do not hold swordplay as seriously as mine, you prefer to play safe and use long-distance weapons to minimize the risk of injury or death."

"Are you going to give me a sermon about my people's ways or are you going to 'teach' me how to use the goddamn sword?!"

Captain sighed. _Impatient_.

If Red was frustrated before, it didn't hold a candle to the humiliation he felt at this: reducing himself to being taught by an inferior species. Try as he might with all the strenght and speed he could muster, he could not breach Captain's impeccable defense nor land a blow on him. He tried every single tactic he could remember from his Academy days, but the crocodile was not caught off-guard. This in turn fueled his anger like the bonfire from last night.

Red had always had this… _need_ to be the best at everything. An _obsession_ , if you prefer. Ever since the Academy days he always strove to be at the top, no matter who he had to stomp on top of in order to achieve that goal (Purple was the only exception). The pressure was even bigger if his opponent was not an Irken; as an Elite he had to prove the might of the Empire. Well, now as a Tallest, that responsibility had grown to the size of the _Massive_ itself.

Naturally, he wasn't taking Captain's _superior_ (yeah, he said it, deal with it) swordsmanship and being defeated by him very well.

When Captain used his tail to knock him off his feet, Red snarled. Enough was _enough_. "THAT'S IT! I'VE HAD ENOUGH WITH YOU!" He got back on his feet, stuck the sword on the snowy ground and stormed off.

"Is that how the _Almighty Tallest_ reacts to failure?" Captain asked. "He throws a tantrum like a spoiled smeet and walks off like a whipped dog?"

 _Don't fall for it, Red_. _He's trying to provoke you._ "I don't need to be learning from _you!_ I am one of the leaders of the powerful Irken Empire!"

"Then act like it and face your problems like a man."

"I'm leaving!"

"Haven't you wondered how the Invader assigned to Sobr was discovered?"

 _That_ made him stop on his tracks.

"Tell you what. If you can land one good punch on me, I will tell you," Captain offered, momentarily nailing his _nekusarai_ unto the snow. "What do you say, Your Tallest?" Upon receiving no immediate reply he smirked. He knew just the thing to blow what short fuse the Irken had left. "Aren't you still mad about my little…. Gift from four years ago? Sorry about your smeet's leg, by the way."

That did it.

Red let out a wrathful scream as he turned around and sprinted towards Captain with a raised fist. It turned into a painful yell when his hand came into contact with the Sobrekt's shoulder and made a loud CRUNCH. Red quickly retreated his hand, biting his lip to contain the painful whimper. His eyes stung with tears of pain as he stared at his fingers.

Mental note: use a metal pole the next time he wants to hurt Captain.*

Speaking of Captain, he stared down at him amusingly. "You're going to feel that in the morning."

How he wanted to tell the Sobrekt to go to hell! It almost came out of his mouth, actually. "We had a deal lizard, so spit it out!" he said instead.

Captain shrugged, picked both swords (he had the feeling Red wouldn't be able to carry his back due to his injured hand) and motioned him to follow. They returned to the camp and went inside the house, where Lena was examining the _dukiva_ and GIR was still asleep... on Lena's lap. She got on her feet-accidentally letting GIR fall to the ground, but he merely rubbed one eye and went back to napping- when she noted the state Red's hand was in. "Sweet Irk! Red, your hand…!"

Red instinctively moved his hand away when Lena tried to take a look at it, but warily allowed her to grab his wrist to take a better look at it. "The proximal phalanges are out of place. How did this happen?" Red coughed and motioned to Captain subtly with his eyes. Lena glared at him. "You savage!"

" _I_ am the savage? _He_ punched _me_ ," Captain defended himself, but the look on that irkenette's face let him know she wouldn't accept any excuses. He looked at Red again. "Wanna hear it while she fixes your hand? Maybe it'll keep you distracted from the pain."

"Whatever…"

They sat down around the ruins of the bonfire. Lena went outside and came back minutes later with a good pile of snow, tore a piece of her skirt to carefully wrap it around Red's fingers, (he made another mental note to buy her another when they got back) instructing him to place his injured hand in it and keep it immobile as much as he could; before reducing the joints they needed to deflate them a bit. Afterwards the _PAK_ would do the rest.

GIR woke up. "Oooh, bedtime story!" he returned to Lena's lap, ignoring her annoyed stare (or perhaps he was oblivious), and started eating from a popcorn bag he had taken out of his head compartment. Red blinked. How many things did he store in that empty head of his?

"He did a pretty good job at first, you know," Captain began. "The Invader. Nobody suspected anything, his disguise was decent enough to fool even the sharpest eyes. First he observed us, learned how we behave with one another before actually introducing himself."

Red might have stuck out his chest proudly if he weren't sore about his hand. "Of course. Invaders are masters of infiltration and espionage. If you don't mind, would you get to the point?"

Captain snorted. " _That_ was his mistake."

"What do you mean?"

"Impatience. Just like you rushed me, he tried to rush things."

"I don't get it, you just said-"

"You'd understand if you let me finish without interrupting. Things went downhill when he tried to learn about our hybrids, particularly the Indokuros. Even amongst our own people the information regarding the Assets, including the exact amount of genomes used in each creature and what species DNA was used in the mixing, is strictly classified to all but the geneticists and the _Shuryo_ himself."

"Shuryo?" Lena inquired at the unfamiliar term.

"It means 'leader'. The _Shuryo_ is the ruler of all Sobrekt, as well as the strongest of all. Anyway, since he couldn't gain access to the information, the Invader thought he could capture an Indokuro and take a DNA sample from it to send it to the Tallest."

"Just for the record, at that time Purple and me were _not_ the Tallest." Red added quickly.

"I know. The point is he did something incredibly stupid _even_ for a Sobrekt: he snuck into the Indokuro corrals and tried to take one away."

"Why is that stupid? I would have done the same if I had the chance."

"And you would share the Invader's fate. Indokuros are unpredictable, even to their own _Indokani_. They only bond with one person during their lifetime and react violently to strangers; not only that, but no disguise can deceive an Indokuro no matter how well made it is. Your Invader would have known if he had taken more time to study the _Indokani_ practices instead of just rushing into action.

"The Indokuros attacked him and inadvertently ripped off his disguise. You know the rest of the story from there."

Red shivered. He had not personally been present, but he had seen the news flash of the Tallest receiving Invader Frak's head and _PAK_ on a platter, courtesy of the Sobrekt. Afterwards, Tallest Brud was so frightened he erased Sobr from the list of planets marked for conquest permanently. He and Purple had been considering re-marking it when they found a worthy Invader.

"Learning to be patient can be the difference between victory and defeat, Your Tallest," Captain concluded. He took a quick look at Red's expression. There was no longer hostility, but instead he could see there was genuine curiosity on his thoughtful expression.

"Mind if I ask something?" Lena asked. Now that Captain seemed to be on a talking mood, perhaps she could get some info out of him. "Why must you always send heads to people? No offense, but it's _disturbing_!"

"The head holds your brain: everything you are, your personality, your memories, all of it. To kill the snake's body you cut off the head, as simple as that. In your case, we know your _PAK_ s are like a secondary brain, so the Shuryo sent it too."

"I like heads! I can take mine off, see?" GIR lifted his head from the rest of his body and held it up. He held it upside down. "Look, I'm walking on the ceiling! WEEE!" Captain just stared at the SIR awkwardly as he ran outside in fits of hysterical laughter. He thought he heard him crashing against stuff a few times.

Okay, awkward moment aside, Lena checked on Red's hand. The swelling had gone down considerably. Okay, _now_ would be a good time to reduce them back. "Red, I need you to relax. I'm going to put them back in place, but I must warn you it's going to hurt a _lot_."

Captain had the feeling of how Red would react and was wise enough to cover his ears. Red, however, just scoffed. "Come on, Lena, I had worse injuries in the battlefield during my youth, how bad can it be-?"

 _SNAP_!

* * *

_Hothian's Base, meanwhile..._

Purple's antenna twitched. Was it his imagination or had he just heard Red screaming kilometers away? Nah, he probably was imagining it. With that in mind, he went back to pouting and glaring at space.

The Hothians finally let them out of their 'quarters', then they were ushered into the hangar where the _Ibris_ had been put and ordered to repair it as soon as possible.

Of course, Masouri had no intention to do so. He had a hunch as to what these people wanted and he would _not_ give them the pleasure of leaving on _his_ ship. Besides, even in the unlikely circumstance that they managed to fix the _Ibris_ and get away from the Hothians he was certain no member of each party would leave their respective leaders behind.

The hyooman, however...

"This is agent Mothman, and as you can see I am in an alien world surrounded by ALIENS!" The hyooman, Dib, somehow had managed to steal a sort of video-camera from the natives and started recording _everything_ that was going on. "These that look like overdeveloped velociraptors belong to a species called Sobrekt, and from what I've learned they are _not_ very nice. They even have an _Indoraptor_! Yeah, you hear that, the one from the Jurassic World franchise!"

"I heard that." Foxtrot growled. The gesture caused his already-irritated throat to send him into a longer coughing fit.

"Their language sounds like the raptors from _Jurassic World*_ , right?" Oh, right, the kiddo couldn't understand what they said, which led to another question. How come he _did_ understand the Irken language? Dib pointed the camera towards Stink, Larb and Bob, who were busy playing cards. "And those over there are Irkens, just like Zim. You know who I'm talking about? The kid with the green skin who is an alien but NOBODY notices!"

Bob waved at the camera. "Hi, cold unfeeling robot arm!"

The camera then pointed towards Purple. "And this is one of Zim's leaders, better known as Tallest Purple."

"Would you get that stupid camera off, kiddo?!" Purple snapped, shoving the camera away. "I'm hungry and not in the mood!"

"That's an interesting claim, considering you ate all those doughnuts by yourself half an hour ago." Echo pointed out. She passed Masouri another tool and leaned against the _Ibris_ , watching her packmate pretend he was working.

"You said it, that was _half an hour_ ago!"

Tenn was staring at Dib's camera in utter disbelief. "A camera? Of all the things you could have picked you grabbed a fucking camera? When you could have grabbed a communicator or some weapon?" Not even Zim was _that_ stupid.

"Hey, I have the chance to obtain actual evidence of extraterrestrial life and other worlds besides Earth! I wasn't going to let it slip!" Dib retorted.

"Hey, kiddo, don't you have more of those tasty doughnuts?"

"You mean the _krispy kreme_ donuts?"

"Yeah, those!"

"Why would I have?"

"Well, you came with him. Don't you know if he brought more?"

"Would you stop talking about food? I'm getting hungry!" Almost on cue, Masouri's stomach growled, soon joined by Echo, Skoodge and Purple's. "Okay, how about we take a break?" Good thing those Hothians didn't really keep an eye on them.

Skoodge grabbed his empty stomach and gave the Sobrekt an almost pitiful look. "Do you have any food?"

"Do they even have a kitchen?" Larb muttered and took a look at his hand. Nothing. "Go fish."

"Yes, we have a kitchen, for your information." Foxtrot responded.

"Why didn't you say so before? Go and make me doughnuts!"

Masouri didn't like Purple's tone, but frankly he was so hungry he didn't mind going to the _Ibris_ 's kitchen. There was only one issue, though. "How do you make doughnuts?"

Purple would have made a perfect spit had he any soda or liquid in his mouth. He didn't, so he had to conform with his jaw dropping and his antenna flattening. "You don't know how to make doughnuts?! In what universe do you live in?!"

"We don't eat sugar." Echo said simply.

Purple groaned and turned to Dib. "You know how to make doughnuts, don't you?"

"I'm not an expert, but the basic to make the dough is flour, water, eggs…"

"There you have it, go make doughnuts with the kryvtors!"

"I can't understand a word they say, in case you forgot, I don't have a pak-thing to translate what they say like you do."

Purple grumbled something in Irken. Excuses, excuses! He glanced at Skoodge and Bob. "You two, go help them! More hands mean more donuts!"

Masouri led Dib and the two short Irkens inside the _Ibris_ (all the while Dib continued to record the experience and narrating whatever little detail he had in front) and into the kitchen. It was small, but to Bob and Skoodge' surprise they didn't find any stoves. There was a fridge, some cupboards and a strange machine with a medium-sized opening.

"How are we supposed to make doughnuts without an oven?" Bob pointed out.

"Who needs an oven when you have this babe?" Masouri patted the machine. "Foodinator 2.0. You just say the name of a dish out loud and it will materialize said food before you can say 'order up!'"

"Is it operational? I mean, not even your ship's lights work." Skoodge asked.

" _That's_ the issue. It won't even turn on, which leads to the question: how in the ancestor's name is _this_ working?!" Dib had no time to react as Masouri snatched the camera from his hands. "Hey, give it back!" Masouri ignored him and examined the device. It looked like any other electronic…

"Let me take a look," Skoodge jumped unto one of the chairs and received the camera. What did it have that made it different from the rest of the malfunctioning technology? What did these natives put on it? It would be easier to figure out if they knew what caused the malfunctions in the first place.

He _did_ notice that the metal it was made of was one he had never seen before.

"You should take a look at the batteries. It's _that_ type of camera, right?" Bob suggested.

Indeed it was. Skoodge removed the batteries (to Dib's dismay) and placed them on the counter. They were glowing with a greenish hue in that same type of metal the camera was made of. "Would you look at that…?" Masouri leaned his head closer, his pupils two perfect ovals made even bigger by his goggles. Skoodge _almost_ thought it made him look cute.

"Think it will make your food-making machine work?"

"Only one way to find out." Masouri dispatched some cables from the Foodinator and connected it to the batteries. A beep later the foodinator turned on. Masouri let out a laugh. "Ha! It's working! Good eye, Skoodge, you're the man!" He started making some more adjustments on the Foodinator.

Dib noted how Skoodge's eyes had gone wide and his antenna perked up. It's not that he cared, but he waved his hand in front of him. There was no reaction. "Huh… Are you alright?"

Skoodge's eyes were watering up. "It's the nicest thing I've ever been told…"

Bob patted his pack. "I know, buddy. I know."

Wow. These guys seriously need to get a life. Masouri looked back at them. "Okay, the Foodinator's working but we don't know how long these batteries will last. How does your Tallest like his doughnuts?"

"Chocolate flavour with no chips, nuts or fruits or of any kind, and a lemon-lime soft drink."

Just like Masouri said, the Foodinator released a bright beam unto the opening grid, and by the time it dissipated there was a whole plate of doughnuts and a vase of soft drink.

"About time!" Purple groaned once they returned outside with the doughnuts. Echo and Foxtrot almost jumped unto on their feet, their pupils thin slits. "Does this mean the Foodinator works?" the latter asked.

"Thanks to Skoodge here, managed to turn it on," Masouri said. He didn't notice Skoodge getting all teary-eyed again. "If you're hungry, you should take the chance to get some food before the batteries run out." He had not finished the sentence when he was nearly trampled by the rest of the group in their rush to get to the kitchen. Bob and Dib were not so lucky.

"Give me that." Purple walked over Dib without a second thought and grabbed some doughnuts. His antenna twitched in delight. "Ah, doughnuts!" He glanced at Masouri. "So you've never eaten a doughnut before?"

Masouri shrugged. Should he…? He had never heard of people who hadn't tasted doughnuts. Well, probably he wouldn't miss one doughnut, right…? Alright, he _would_ miss it. Purple picked one and held it to the kryvtor. "Here."

Masouri blinked. "What are you doing?"

"Try one."

"Are you sure…? Like I said, we Sobrekt don't eat sugar for a reason."

"Come on, surely it won't kill you." Masouri blinked, tentatively grabbed one of the pastries and gave it a sniff. Purple lost his patience. "Just eat it already!"

The startled kryvtor swallowed the donut whole. It was _very_ sweet, too sweet for his reptilian palates to take. His pupils enlarged even more as the sugar spread through his system. "It's… It's soooo…. Sweeeeeettieeee...!"

Purple just watched as Masouri collapsed unto the ground with his tongue sticking out, two perfect circles for eyes and an almost goofy-grin on his maw. Purple sighed nostalgically. "I remember my first time."

* * *

_Somewhere in the Wilderness, meanwhile..._

Ilk took a deep breath and held the the sword in both hands on guard position.

"You're hesitating," Blue pointed out. "You need a firm grip."

"It's the first time I've ever had to resort to actually kill something, so sorry if I'm not very happy about it!" Blue snorted (and sneezed). Ilk narrowed her eyes at him. "You don't believe me?"

"I find it hard to digest considering your people are known for committing genocide on a daily basis, am I wrong?"

"You can't judge an individual for the actions of others. I case you haven't noticed, I haven't called you a savage even though I know _your_ kind tend to be brutish."

Blue gave another snort, incensed. "That's a misconception Irkens created because you've only ever seen us in the battlefield. We are brutish and bloodthirsty, yes, but only when we need to be."

"You talk much when your species sent one of the previous Tallest a head and PAK."

He couldn't believe the nerve of this… smeet! "So you imply we should have let him just cripple our planet's defenses so you'd come conquer us? Do you even care about all those species you conquer? Do you care about destroying their way of life and forcing them into slavery?"

If she were having this conversation with another under different circumstances she'd explain out all her ethical dilemmas and all that, but this _Sobrekt_ was part of the group who had _kidnapped_ her. She would _not_ show 'weakness' in front of _him_. "We are Irkens. We keep what we take." She swore Blue's pupils had turned into thin slits again.

"In that case, come at me," Blue let out a deep growl (narrowly avoiding the coughing that lately came with said gesture), lighting the plasma blades of his trusty kunai-like weapon; it was set on training mode, however, and the plasma wouldn't actually cut through Ilk's skin, just burn her a bit. His mission was to take her to the _Shuryo_ _without_ a scratch, after all. "If you're so 'superior' as you say, attack me."

Ilk gulped internally. She was at clear disadvantage; he was bigger, stronger and was more experienced in swordplay. Plus, those plasma blades looked sharp. No, Ilk, don't let him intimidate you. Size is not everything, surely she could figure something out. For the first time she was glad Larb had been the one to give her most of the lessons.

 _The first thing you ought to do is to analyze your enemy. What kind of weapon does he use? Believe it or not,_ that _gives you a clue as to how he prefers to fight so you won't be taken by surprise._

Analyze the enemy's weapon. Ilk subtly glanced at Blue's blade: it was a kunai with three glowing plasma-induced blades and a thick handle. It could be held in one hand. This, combined with what she already knew about the Kryvtors, helped Ilk deduce that Blue would use his speed and agility to his advantage and try to subdue her. Then she recalled one of Tenn's pieces of advice.

_Should you ever face against a speedy enemy, take into account that in order for them to use it they rely on their balance to keep themselves from falling. If you throw them off balance, you can get the upper hand; to do so you'll want to target the legs. They are the pillars of your body weight, after all._

Ilk got into a battle position, holding up the sword in a blocking posture. She'd wait for Blue to make the first move; his claws were tapping on the ground, probably a sign that he was getting impatient for her to do so. When Ilk didn't move, her antenna twitched as she heard a low growl coming from Blue's throat. Was the Sobrekt's itch for fighting that strong?

Her patience paid off when Blue couldn't take it anymore. He gave a shriek, bristled his crest and ran towards her like a bullet. Okay, Ilk, it's now or never! The young Irken ran towards Blue and targeted his left leg; when it was close enough Ilk knocked his leg with a strong, swift movement of the sword's handle. Like she anticipated, Blue was caught off balance and he fell to the ground. Acting quickly, Ilk jumped on top of him and held the sword pointing at his throat with a hand, while pushing away the arm in which he held his kunai with the other.

Blue had no idea of what had happened. One second he was sprinting towards the Irken to deal a blow, the next he was on the ground at her mercy. She had a sort of skill he hadn't noticed, having underestimated her due to her smaller size and her thin, shorter arms. When she pressed the tip of Masouri's butterfly sword against his throat he knew she had subdued him.

His eyes gave a small, unnoticeable glint as he looked into her crimson eyes, so full of strength she was unaware of.

Ilk panted heavily as she stared down into the kryvtor's golden orbs, his pupils two perfectly thin lines. If dad had seen this he certainly would have been very proud of her. Well, she apparently made her point clear. Ilk removed the sword and got off Blue, turning her back on him as she walked back to the camp, not knowing what she just triggered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Dusazu: Sobrekt translation for 'twin sword'.
> 
> *Dukiva: Sobrekt translation for 'twin sai'.
> 
> *Nekusarai: Captain's personal name for his long katana. It's a tradition to name you own weapon after crafting and customizing it.
> 
> *Reference to a part in the Twilight Saga where Jacob kisses Bella and she in turn punches him, or rather tries to, but she breaks her hand in the attempt, and he jokingly suggests that she use a metal pole instead.
> 
> *Yet another referente to Jurassic World. My headcannon is that the Kryvtor branch of the sobrekt language would sound like the velociraptor vocalizations, growls, etc. to a human who lacks a PAK universal translator.
> 
> Next Chapter: Blue suddenly changes his attitude while Red and Lena bond further somewhat. Meanwhile, danger looks in the woods...


	9. Courtship?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, I'm nervous! My exams start next week, which means I might not be able to write as often as before. On the bright side, they are the semi-final exams and then the holidays.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter

_Outskirts near the camp, meanwhile..._

When you become a doctor you take the solemn oath to use your skills to _save_ lives. Not _end_ them. Even if said death was considered necessary, the _good_ doctors are often reluctant to kill and will only use it as a last resort when all the other options have failed. Because of this, most people in the medical field lack any form of combat training.

This made it even harder for Lena to learn fighting. She had _never_ killed anything in her entire life. It might sound ironic, considering military training is often included in the Irken curriculum, but the medic field was the exception. This is part of the reason she chose to be a doctor in the first place. Lena didn't have the… cold blood to kill.

"And here I thought your Tallest was terrible at swordplay."

"Shut up, scaly-head."

Lena huffed. Those two were _not_ helping. "If you're trying to make me feel better, you're both fired."

"It's the first time I've seen an Irken who cannot defend herself," Captain said with a shrug. "This explains why it wasn't that hard to subdue you when I boarded your ship even with your spidery _PAK_ legs."

"Don't you have any weapons in your _PAK_ , Lena?" Red asked, genuinely curious. He hated to admit it, but Captain _had_ a good point.

"I'm a _doctor_ , Red, not a soldier."

"Even so, shouldn't you have at least a pistol in case something like _this_ happens?"

"I made an oath to save lives, and all my life it's what I've done. You can't expect me to go against those principles, even self-defense killing goes against what I stand for."

Captain shook his head. That is _very_ counterproductive. He'd show her how it was properly done, but dual weapons were not his specialty. Besides, _Hitorken_ Zim was taking too long in… whatever he was doing. He asked GIR to go look for him, but given his short-attention span he guessed he had ran off after some critter or something. "If you'll excuse me, I'll go look for Zim. He might have gotten hurt."

"So what?" Red responded with a shrug. "Better for us, he's just going to bring problems. Trust me, I _know_." Captain merely rolled his eyes and made his way towards the woods. Well, should anything go wrong because of Zim, Captain would be the first person he'd pin the blame on.

Red continued to watch Lena as she tried to figure out how to wield the sai. No offense, but she really _sucked_ at it. Perhaps he should lend her a hand, right? Literally only one, though, the one he had struck Captain with was still sore from having it fixed. "Need some help?"

"Red, your hand is still recovering, you shouldn't use it too much yet…"

"It's okay, I still have the other. Besides, I'm only going to give you some tips," With a bit of effort he got up without leaning on his injured limb and walked over to Lena. "Show me your combat posture," Lena did as told, and he took a look at it. She wasn't kidding when she said she had _no_ experience. He had none in dual weapons either (not even when it was laser guns he was familiarized with), but at the very least he _did_ know how to fight. "Your body language radiates insecurity."

"I don't know how to do this, remember?" Lena pointed out, rolling her eyes.

"The last thing you want is your opponent to figure _that_ out. Before learning how to use these, you should first learn a proper stance," he put on the posture taught at the Academy. "Like this," Again, she did as he said and he took a look at her. A _better_ look at her. He had never paid much attention, but Lena had beautiful curves in her thin waist and delicate-looking arms. "It's not that… bad. You just need a few adjustments, if you don't mind."

Lena had no idea what he meant by that, she merely gave him a nod. She felt a shiver down her spine when his hands started touching her to gently shift her arms and back into the correct position. "There, better." Red said with a nod of approval. "That will make it harder for your opponent to find an opening, you'll have more time to react _and_ you can throw whatever you have at hand with even more force."

"Throw?" Lena inquired.

"You know, smoke bombs, plasma grenades, even throwing knives. You must be prepared for anything," Red took out a small knife with a sharp blade from one of the belts of his armor, which he threw at a nearby log expertly. The knife hit its target and got stuck there. Lena blinked. "Now you try it with that… whatever they call it."

Lena took a deep breath. It couldn't be that hard, right? She'd just throw it at the tree and it would get stuck. She got into the position again, targeted a particular spot and launched one of the sai… only for it to go past the tree and land on the snow. "Damn it…"

Red chuckled. "It's alright, it takes a little practice to get it right."

Lena spent the next twenty minutes throwing the sai at the tree bark, only to have to pick it up from the snow, the bushes or wherever it happened to land. Red just watched; he must think she's useless! How embarrassing. After the latest failed attempt, he walked behind her and tenderly took her hands from behind to guide her into a better posture. "Like this." He whispered. Hearing his silky voice so close sent shivers down Lena's spine.

After watching Lena randomly throwing the sai at the tree and never striking the target he decided he'd have to lend her a hand in a more literal way. As he grabbed her hands he noted her skin was very soft. He inadvertently pulled Lena closer to his own body as he shifted her pose, causing his heart to beat on a faster rate and his squeedly-spooch to squirm; it wasn't the uncomfortable type, this one was more like a ticklish sensation. Red was glad she wasn't facing him, because he was certain he was blushing deeply.

"On count of three, we throw it together," he whispered to her. Lena nodded and got into position. "One, two, three!"

In a perfectly synchronized movement, the sai was sent flying through the air and into the tree, striking just next to the knife. "Wow…!" Lena couldn't contain the gasp of wonder that left her mouth.

If he thought Lena's facial features were attractive before, it held no candle to when she was smiling. It brought forth a small smile of his own. "Okay, you two lovebirds, let's get going!" A familiar Sobrekt came out of the forest followed by _Fury_ , who was carrying an unconscious Zim and a happily-whistling GIR on his back (rather, it seemed like Zim was _sleeping_ ). Captain simply _couldn't_ resist to ruin everything, did he?

Why use the term lovebirds, though? Please, he and Lena were not _that_ close. Lena had a similar reaction. "Would you mind finding another word to call us? Lovebirds is too…"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it, missy." Captain interrupted. "Take only what you _really_ need. Carrying too much stuff will slow us down…" he noted a sai was embedded unto a tree. "Why is Echo's sai stuck there?"

Lena _almost_ gulped when she noted the tone in which he had asked that question. She recalled the warning before being given the weapons. "Sorry! I'll get it." Lena walked over to the tree, but as she pulled unto the handle it didn't budge. She tried again to no avail. "Um, this might take a while…"

Captain narrowed his eyes. "You better not break it, Irken."

That drove her over the edge. Lena took a firm grip on the handle of the kai and pulled with all her might. It budged a little, not much, but it was a good start. Damn it, this thing was very long!

"Let me lend you a hand." Red approached, gently wrapped his arms around her waist (the tickling in his squeedly-spooch returned as he did so) and pulled alongside the Irkenette.

After five minutes of just watching, Captain snorted. Clearly they hadn't heard that there are _many_ ways to skin a felur*. "You can stay here all day trying to pull it out or you could press the button on the handle."

In the latest pull Lena finally noticed said tiny black button at her thumb's reach. How come she hadn't noticed it before. She regretted pressing it, however, when the sai's plasma blade activated and cut through the wood around it. Unfortunately at that very moment she and Red had pulled yet again, and their combined forces sent them both flying a few centimeters backwards, with Lena landing on top of Red.

"Sweet Irk…!" Red bit his lip to contain a cry while his antenna went flat against his head. Lena had landed right on top of his squeedly-spooch.

Lena panicked. So much she momentarily forgot she had permission to call him by name. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry, My Tallest!"

 _Fury_ snickered, or at least she thought he was. Captain's expression remained stoic, but the glint on his yellow eyes said otherwise.

"Aaawww, just like in the movies!" GIR cried out happily.

Just when they thought it couldn't get any worse, at that moment Blue and Ilk returned from their own training session. They had no idea what Blue thought they were doing on the ground on top of each other, but judging by how he quickly averted his gaze with a bristled crest and shrunk pupils…

Ilk merely blinked and stared at them. Immediately both Red and Lena blushed and blurted out nervously.

"Oh, sweetie, it's…!"

"Not what you think!"

* * *

There was something… different about Blue. Ever since she had somehow beaten him in his own game, his attitude towards her in particular was different. At first she thought it was only her imagination, but it became more evident after the group packed up the camp and set on their way towards the Hothian's base. She could feel Blue's gaze on top of her the whole time and he didn't even bother to dissimulate it.

For the first time in a while Ilk clung to her father all the time, trying to hide herself from Blue as much as possible. She wasn't the only one who saw the change.

Red perceived Ilk's tension as she stuck to his side and noticed how she'd glance in the kryvtor's direction warily. When he turned towards him, Blue would avert his gaze towards the front and ignore him; Red could tell there was something going on, however. He didn't know what happened between Blue and Ilk while they were gone. Had the sobrekt threatened Ilk for something? Had he hurt her? Whatever it was, he'd find out. Meanwhile, he made sure to keep Ilk close at all times.

Thankfully, since Zim was still asleep, unconscious, comatose or whatever, Red and Lena were in charge of the map for the time being. Surprisingly, though Lena lacked any combat skills she _did_ know how to read a map very well. If they continued heading northwest without any problems they'd arrive at the Hothian base in three or four days.

Soon they came upon a wide trench. Captain tentatively kicked a small rock off the edge to check how deep it was; twenty seconds later he heard the echo of the rock crashing on the ground. It was a very long fall.

"How do we cross?" Lena asked. Zim's _PAK_ rockets were out of the question because he was… indisposed, and even if he weren't she doubted he'd be able to carry everyone to the other side.

Blue took the long rope-one of the few things he managed to grab from the ship before leaving it-and tied one end to a nearby rock. When he was sure it was properly tied he bound the other end around _Fury_ 's neck and then gave the indokuro a hand sign. _Fury_ took a few steps back, a quick head start and leapt across the trench, landing safely on the other side, earning an excited yell from GIR.

To Red's disappointment, though, Zim didn't slip off into the chasm below; his _PAK_ -legs had automatically come out and clung to Fury's neck to secure him to the Indokuro's back*. _Fury_ then stepped further back enough to tense the rope.

"I admit, that's impressive." Red said begrudgingly. This reminded him of that time he and Purple had to do something similar to cross over between two buildings in their Elite days; the only difference was that they had used a normal grappling-hook from their _PAK_ s. "Who goes first?" He glanced at Captain. "Why don't you go? Somebody has to see if the rope is strong enough."

"In case you haven't noticed, my body mass and weight is heavier. You, on the other hand, are a literal stick."

" _You_ -! Take that back!"

"Why don't you settle this with another _rock, paper and scissors_?" Blue asked with a shrug. _That_ snapped them out of it. They didn't want to waste time with that silly earthen game again.

"Alright, I will go." Captain growled bitterly and went over to the rope. He was never fond of heights unless he was inside the safety of a ship. He clung from the rope with his hands and his crossed legs to move slowly towards the other side; when he did, _Fury_ noticeably gave a loud grown and dug his talons into the snow. Captain _was_ the heaviest member of the party. After a few minutes of slowly advancing through the makeshift 'bridge', Captain reached the other side safely.

"Who's next?" he called out, inadvertently creating an echo in the chasm.

This called GIR's attention. "Oooh!" He hopped off _Fury_ 's back and ran towards the chasm to start yelling random words. "ECHOOOO! PIGGYYY! MARYYY!"

Ilk was about to step forward when Red took her by the shoulder and pulled her back. "Wait, Ilk. I have to make sure that thing is safe."

"Dad, if the rope endured _him_ ," Ilk pointed at Captain. "Who must weight about five tons, I think it will endure me."

"I _heard_ that." Captain snorted, incensed. He only weighed one and a half, than you very much.

"One can never be too careful, sweetheart."

To the surprise of both Blue added. "You should listen to him this time around," He didn't even flinch when Red glanced at him in surprise. "What? You want to protect her as her father. I have the task to take her back to Sobr unharmed. We both want the same thing; Ilk's safety."

Had he just called her by _name_? He previously referred to her as _Irken_ or _smeet_ , why the sudden change? Did it have to do with…? Red shook the thought for the time being, he'd ask Ilk for details later when they were alone.

He gulped lightly when he stepped at the edge of the trench. Like Captain said, it looked very deep. Red tentatively touched the rope to make sure Captain's weight hadn't weakened it, and crossed over in a similar fashion. Once he had crossed safely to the other side, he called out to Lena that she was next.

She had it a little harder, however; she even froze in the middle of the chasm before Red managed to coax her towards the end of the line. He had to help her get down from the rope. Lena had been so terrified of the experience her arms wrapped around his frame once she reached the other side, unconsciously seeking something to hold unto, much to their later embarrassment and Captain's amusement.

Ilk, however, just needed to take one look at the chasm to freeze. She had trained back at the _Massive_ , that's true, but an exercise in a computer-generated simulation and _actually_ crossing over an obstacle in which the smallest mistake could cost your life were _very_ different things.

Blue noticed she was irradiating fear almost like the semi-toxic stench in the air. Usually this would trigger a dominance-establishing gesture from a Sobrekt. "Are you okay?" He asked instead, staring down at Ilk in concern.

"Ilk, what's the matter?" Red called out from the other side.

Ilk gulped. Her antenna were flat against her head. "I'm not sure I can do it."

"What do you mean? It's just like the simulations, sweetie!"

"You don't _die_ in the simulation if you do something wrong, dad!"

Realizing they were wasting precious time arguing, Blue bent down on one knee. "Up." She looked up at him, puzzled, and he felt Red and Lena's eyes on top of him too. "Get on my back and hold on."

Ilk stepped back instead, uncertain. "It's alright," Blue assured her. "I won't let you fall." His voice sounded so… tender. Somehow it soothed her down considerably; he seemed to be the type to keep his word, did he? Captain _had_ mentioned Sobrekt did so.

Red tensed up as he watched his smeet being coaxed unto Blue's back, clinging to him for dear life as the kryvtor started advancing through the rope in a slower pace. His hand unconsciously grabbed Lena's for assurance, which she provided by squeezing it. She was also worried about Ilk.

Blue was halfway across when he suddenly stopped. Was it just him or the rope didn't feel as tensed as before? He heard Captain asking if something was wrong, but he didn't answer. He glanced at the rock he made the knot on. To his horror he saw it was seconds away from snapping. He barely had time to reach for his kunai just as the the rope finally gave away.

"ILK!"

"BLUE!"

Red, Lena and Captain immediately ran over to the edge and looked into the chasm. To their relief, the duo hadn't fallen to their deaths; _Fury_ still had the other end tied around his neck. They had only crashed against the rocky wall; Blue had additionally dug his plasma kunai into the rock with one hand while the other was holding Ilk's arm as she hung from his hold.

"Ilk, are you alright?" Red called to his daughter in terror.

"She seems to be in shock!" Lena deduced. After all, if this was her first time on the actual field she was bound to be afraid, especially in life-threatening situations like this.

Captain realized Blue wouldn't be able to climb towards them if both his hands were occupied. He turned towards Fury and motioned him to get closer, which the indokuro did. "Blue, throw the smeet into the air!" he almost flinched when Red screamed. "WHAT?!"

" _Fury_ will catch her and Blue will be able to climb up!"

"What if he doesn't?!"

"He's an Indokuro, Irken! There's nothing he can't catch!"

Blue would have rolled his eyes if he weren't hanging for his life on a pit. The arm he was holding unto his kunai with was already hurting from supporting both his weight _and_ Ilk's. He looked down at Ilk; she was frightened before, but it didn't compare to the terror he could see in her glossy eyes. "Ilk, do you trust me?"

It took her a few seconds to process what he said. "What?!"

" _Do you trust me_?"

Ilk gulped and nodded. She was caught off guard when Blue threw her upwards into the air; the smeet screamed in fright and close her eyes shut.

" _Fury_ , catch!"

Instead of falling to her death like she half-expected, she felt a strong thug from her shirt. When she opened her eyes she found herself hanging from _Fury'_ s jaws as he stepped away from the ledge.

"ILK!" Dad had instantly rushed forward to snatch her from the creature's hold and hold her close. She didn't protest; she was so frightened she unconsciously needed to cling to something that made her feel safe, so she wrapped her arms around her father and hid her face into the crook of his neck.

"Ilk, are you alright?" Lena asked. She knew she probably wouldn't respond due to her current state, but she still had be sure. Her antenna twitched when Ilk whimpered her positive reply while Red cooed and stroked the back of her head.

Meanwhile, Captain stretched out a hand to help Blue lift himself unto the ground. _Fury_ purred as he rubbed his head against his master's shoulder. "I'm fine, boy."

Red's antenna twitched when he heard _his_ voice. " _You…_!" His crimson eyes almost looked on fire as he glared at the Sobrekt and stomped towards him with a threatening expression. "You nearly killed my daughter!"

"Excuse me?" Blue questioned with a frown.

"Don't play innocent, you _threw_ her into the air!"

"And Fury caught her, just like I told you he would." Captain pointed out, crossing his arms.

"That's not the issue!"

"No, the issue here is you make a ruckus over stupid things!"

"Stupid things?! You call endangering her life a stupid thing?!"

"Stop!" Lena stepped in before an all-out fight broke out. "Settle this later if you have to, we have to get going! We don't know in what conditions the others are in or even if they're safe!" Much like before her face beamed with stern authority directed to both parties, and again this impressed not only Red, but also Captain and Blue to the point they stepped down for now.

Zim groaned loudly and stretched out still on _Fury_ 's back, rubbing his eyes momentarily before glancing around at his surroundings. "Good morning, My Tallest!"

So he _had_ been asleep this whole time?

* * *

_Later..._

After spending half the rest of the day walking, they reached a formation of bent-down, sickly trees that were somehow bended down in the form of a dome-like structure at nightfall. Thankfully there were no more pits or deep crevices on the ground to cross, only long snowy plains and freezing rivers. On the bright side, Red got a good laugh when Zim fell into the water and started shrieking even though _this_ water wasn't burning him*.

The coughing fits were becoming a bit more frequent in Ilk and Blue. _Fury_ and Captain didn't have as much trouble. Red was getting worried about Ilk's health, especially given her lack of a _PAK_ left her more vulnerable to disease.

When she shared her suspicions with Red he _panicked_. He asked her not to say anything yet, he didn't want Ilk to worry about it; she was already frightened enough from what happened at the chasm. When Lena mentioned Captain and Blue, he didn't really care if _they_ died; besides, they wouldn't keep it a secret.

This time it was Red's turn to go hunting with Captain and _Fury_ while Blue stayed behind with Lena, Ilk, Zim and GIR. Currently Blue was taking a look at the tablet to check if they were going in the right direction and if he could learn something about these 'hothians', as they called themselves, while Zim tried to start a fire with a peculiar human device called a 'lighter'. All you had to do was roll a tiny wheel on the top to ignite a small flame.

 _If_ he could get GIR to give him said tool, that is.

"GIR, as your master I order you to give me the lighter!"

"No, it's mine!"

Ilk picked up a nearby stone that fit in her hand and a thin branch. "GIR, if you give lend Zim the lighter for a while I'll give you this rock and stick."

"Okey-dokey!" GIR gave the tool to his master and went to pick up his new toys.

"Hahaha! Victory for Zim!" Zim cried holding up the lighter triumphantly, and then again when he successfully lit up the pile of wood without blowing it up.

"How did you fall asleep in the middle of the woods, Zim?" Lena asked curiously.

"Oh, that. Well, none of you noticed because of my incredible acting skills, but my _PAK_ 's energy reserves seem to be… well, not working, and I was…." Zim looked around to make sure the Tallest was not around and then whispered quickly. "… _tired._ "

Blue lifted his gaze, interested. "Energy reserves?"

"For the information of _inferior_ species, _PAK_ s are implemented with a power reservoir for when we don't get any sleep. That's how I can stay awake and alert all the time*!" Zim puffed out his chest proudly.

Lena blinked. _All the time_? Did this mean he _never_ slept? She had heard of Irkens who didn't sleep for days and only kept going because they used their emergency _PAK_ reserves until they could have a proper rest, but _this_? No sleep _at all_? That would certainly explain his… 'quirks'.

"Anyway, since coming to this planet my _PAK_ has failed to provide me with the energy supply, and since I have _never_ required rest…" Zim looked down bitterly. "How pitiful. An Irken Invader reduced to sleeping-OW!" Zim rubbed his head when something struck it. He saw a rock with some drops of blood just in front of his knee. "GIR!"

"HOM RUN!" The little robot cried happily even as his master started chasing him around with the intent of punishing him.

"So even _his_ _PAK_ isn't working at its fullest…" Lena sighed in dismay. Still, she couldn't help but laugh a bit as she saw GIR evade Zim's hands.

Blue snorted when he couldn't decipher the contents of the tablet, other than the map thing, and let it fall to the ground as he got on his feet. "Well, I'm going to get some water…" he glanced at Zim when he passed by him in his fruitless pursuit of GIR. "Do you casually have something in your… _PAK_ where I can bring the water in?"

The invader stopped in his tracks to glare at Blue. "Zim will not allow you to harm Ilk-smeet with the foul water, Blue-beast!"

"That is not my intention, _Hitorken_ Zim. Ilk lacks a _PAK_ of her own and I assume that means she must get more nourishment than you and those with _PAK_ s, am I right?" he directed the last question at Ilk with a glance.

Ilk quickly nodded. "Yeah, Zim. Besides this water doesn't look like its been contaminated like you said Earth water is. You didn't get burned when you fell into the creek, remember?"

Zim gave it a brief thought. Despite his panic when he touched the freezing cold hydrolic acid (he came up with the name. Cool, isn't it?) the burning sensation and smoking from his body was missing. "Alright, then," Zim brought out a bucket from his _PAK_ , courtesy of GIR, and held it out for Blue. "You have permission to go fetch uncontaminated water for Ilk-smeet, Blue-beast."

Blue saluted, took the bucket and gave Ilk a brief glance before heading out into the woods with nothing more than a torch made from one of the sticks.

Once they were alone, Ilk shifted a bit closer to Lena. "So how did your… training session go?"

Lena blushed lightly. "I suck at it. I mean, I can handle a few types of plasma guns, but other than that…"

"Lena, mind if I ask something… personal?"

"What is it?"

"Do you like my dad?"

Lena's face looked like a greener watermelon (a big, round earth fruit filled with red water). "W-Why, Ilk…! I don't know where you got the impression! Your dad is the Tallest and I'm just a doctor!" Sure, up to now Red had been _very_ nice, he was charming and a gentleman, but there was _no_ way he'd set his eyes on _her_ even if she _did_ like him.

"Just asking. I mean, he's not usually nice to other Irkens unless he either wants something from them or he likes them." Ilk commented. She _had_ seen mild signs about it, how dad and Lena were becoming… attracted. Better not to push it, but she wanted dad to be happy, plus Lena was a nice Irken.

Anyway, she better change the subject. Lena looked embarrased enough already. "Have you noticed something… strange about Blue's behavior?"

"Strange?" Lena was grateful for Ilk talking about something else.

"I don't know, he hasn't been… the same ever since…"

"Since what?" Lena twitched her antenna. "Did something happen?" Ilk sighed and told Lena about what had happened between them a few hours ago, how she had defeated Blue and how he had been... Nicer to her. "Well, you _did_ bring him down despite being bigger and supposedly stronger. Perhaps he respects you."

"Or maybe he _likes_ you!"

Lena and Ilk gave GIR a perplex glance. His eyes had turned red again. Ilk asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Mastah found a bunch of letters in the computer about the big iguanas, and he leaned lots of stuff about iguanas! If an iguana beats another in a fight they will like each other very much, like this!" GIR went towards Zim and kissed him in the mouth, to the Irken's horror.

"PUAJ! GIR, THAT'S DISGUSTING!" Zim snarled and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. When he got over the shock, he decided to translate what GIR said into normal language. "You brought down the Blue-beast, Ilk-smeet. In other words, you defeated a Sobrekt in combat single handedly, isn't that right?"

Ilk nodded.

"Well, ever since the Planet Jackers nearly destroyed MY planet I have been researching other species in case any of them try to do the same. During one of those long sessions I came across something… interesting about the Sobr-beasts.

Apparently _even_ their mating habits revolve around their warrior lifestyle; as such, their main goal is to 'pass the strongest genes to the next generation'. They don't go around giving snacks and dead reproductive organs of plants to say 'i want you to be my mate'. The individual in question challenges the girl or boy he or she likes to a sort of combat. If they win, the loser, or 'intended' if you prefer, is obligued to accept them as their mate*. It's very dumb, right?"

Ilk had gone pale while Lena's jaw was hanging from her mouth. "Z-Zim, surely you misread!"

He took offense to the commentary. "The Irkenet is _never_ wrong!"

"Zim, do you even realize what you're implying?! Ilk is just a smeet, there's _no_ way he's even thinking of _that_ step!"

"IRKENET!"

Ilk just stared at the cackling fire in shock, completely ignoring the argument. Did this mean…? No. No, no! It couldn't be! He wasn't… courting her, was he?! Plus Zim had a grave case of attention deficit disorder, perhaps he misread just like Lena said. Yes, that must be it. But if that were the case, the only way to be certain was to ask an actual Sobrekt about it, and the only one available other than her 'intended' was…

"Come on, Irken, it wasn't that bad!"

At that moment Red walked into the shelter. Much like Ilk he was pale, his eyes were open like plates and his antenna were flat against his head. Seconds later Captain and _Fury_ followed suit, dragging the already-skinned carcass into the tree-dome. They didn't have to ask what was wrong. Zim screamed 'meat' and ran to the corner of the pines to hide behind its branches. _Fury_ started looking around while letting out purrs; he was probably looking for his master.

Lena got to her feet and walked towards her Tallest as he stumbled towards the fire. "Red, are you okay?"

"Gross…" was all he said before going to the spot Zim had hidden in to throw up. Either he didn't see Zim was there or didn't care, probably the latter.

Okay, now that dad was distracted would be a good chance to ask Captain about… _that_. "Um, Captain?" She flinched a bit when the Sobrekt turned his head to look at her.

"What is it?" he asked.

Ilk made sure her dad was not within earshot-if he found out about this he'd make a big deal out of it- and said. "See, Blue has been acting strangely with me since I brought him down during our training spar. Zim says he's 'courting' me for some stupid tradition of having to accept whoever defeats you as a mate, but that's a mistake, right?"

Whatever hope she had of Captain confirming that the information was mistaken vanished when she saw the serious look on his face.

Had he heard right? The smeet _defeated_ Blue? Singlehandedly? With those tiny stick-thin arms and small size? He couldn't believe it. He almost didn't. But he had noted Blue's change in behavior around her, how he was trying to make her feel safe and subtly begging her for some attention. He initially thought he was being more careful around her, but now that she told him this… "Technically, _you_ courted _him_."

"What?" Ilk almost yelled, jumping to her feet.

"Ilk? What's wrong?" Damn it. She had forgotten dad was still inside the dome.

"Somebody likes Ilk like this!" GIR jumped straight to Red's face and, much to the horror of Zim, kissed him in the mouth. "GIR!"

"WHAT ON IRK?! ZIM, I SWEAR, IF YOU DON'T KEEP THAT LITTLE MENACE UNDER CONTROL I'M SENDING YOU BOTH STRAIGHT TO FOODCOURTIA!" Red wiped his mouth and spat various times, all the while glaring daggers at Zim.

"I will be sure to correct his behavior, My Tallest!" Zim said nervously before starting another round of 'tag', as GIR called it. "GIR, wait until I put my hands on you...!"

Captain _would_ have loved to see Red's face when he learned his beloved daughter had inadvertently courted a Sobrekt, but he had the feeling the smeet didn't want him to know about _this_. Besides, after what just happened he wouldn't take it kindly either. Though he didn't get to see Red reacting to the former issue, watching him spit up and wipe his mouth after the robot exchanging saliva-or oil?- with him partly made up for it.

Once he was partly out of earshot, Captain leaned in towards Ilk and muttered. "Don't be surprised if Blue brings something for you apart from whatever you sent him to fetch. It's a way to show he can provide for you."

Indeed, when Blue returned a few moments later with the bucket full of water ( _Fury_ nearly caused him to drop it when he ran towards him and rubbed his head against his body), he was carrying a small furry creature he seemed to have hunted by himself. "I thought you might be hungry." he said, holding it out for Ilk and out of _Fury_ 's reach.

"T-Thank you…" she retorted, quickly grabbing the 'present' with a trembling hand and then moving as away from Blue as possible.

"My Tallest, your almighty clothing is dirty! Allow Zim to clean you up!" Before Blue could do something to stop him, Zim had snatched the bucked and splashed its contents on top of Red, soaking him to the bone, but indeed removing the remains of vomit from his armor.

Lena took her hands to her mouth to contain a gasp while Captain burst out in laughter. The Irken leader, contrary to expectations, didn't explode against Zim; he merely sighed irritably and started rubbing his arms to try and keep himself warm.

" _Thanks_ , Zim." he said, though judging by his irritable tone he didn't really mean it.

"A pleasure to serve you, My Tallest!" Zim saluted happily, though he sill sounded a bit nervous from the previous threat. Clearly he was trying to make up for GIR kissing his Tallest. Zim took out what seemed to be a sort of furry blanket from his _PAK_. It was _very_ wide, Ilk was certain it would be able to cover Zim's voot runner completely. "I also found something you could use as bedding!"

"Hey, I don't remember having made one _that_ big." Captain pointed out, but Zim held the blanket out of reach before he could take a closer look at it.

"Where did you get it?" Lena asked curiously.

"It was lying on the ground near a nest I found on the way here. Since there was no one around, I thought it could be useful."

"Wait, you mean to say you grabbed it from a _nest_? As in a somebody else's bed?" A loud roar coming from the outside seemed to confirm her suspicions, especially when the tree shelter was torn apart by big, clawed hands.

Red smacked his forehead and let out a groan. Just like he told Captain! Problems! With a big, capital _P_!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *The felur is a native animal of Sobr, a sort of mixture between a mountain lion and an antelope-like creature native of another planet. It's the only Sobr creature who has fur, so it's pelt is used to make winter clothing.
> 
> *Reference to the deleted footage in 'Abducted', where Zim's PAK would have saved his life as he fell towards a fire. As he was unconscious, the PAK-legs activate on their own and carry him to safety.
> 
> *I mentioned this before in 'The Smeet', but I headcannon that water from OTHER planets that are not Earth don't burn Irkens, since they're not as contaminated as Earth water.
> 
> *Another headcannon partly inspired from JV info: Irkens usually don't sleep because their PAKs have energy reserves that help them stay awake without any consequences, but they still need to slumber every now and then to their organic brains get to rest. Zim, of course, NEVER sleeps, and we know what happens when you don't. The Tallest often sleep because they have time to space on the Massive.
> 
> *I got this idea from Ranma 1/2, in which the amazon tribe Shampoo comes from follow this tradition. In their case, if a woman warrior is defeated by a man, she is obliged to marry him. It's basically the same in this case.
> 
> Next Chapter: As the monster attacks, an unexpected savior comes to the rescue. Meanwhile, the captives learn some information about their captors...


	10. The Mendigo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My god, its final exam week, and i'm at the edge of my nerves! XS. Hopefully i won't fail any. Recovering my PS4 depends on it. Wish me luck!
> 
> Well, leaving that topic aside, enjoy the chapter!

_The Hothian Base, that night..._

"I must say, I'm impressed," Iraa had said upon seeing how 'well-behaved' they were in comparison to the 'last ones'. "And given I have an even… better leverage, you can have your egg back."

Ever since the egg was constantly changing in hands between Masouri, Foxtrot and Echo. The Irkens and Dib would wonder why they were so zealous about it; sure, it was the offspring of an Indokuro, perhaps the best hybrekt ever designed (as the kryvtors put it). In fact, Larb had been tempted to steal it a few times already, but he never got the chance.

On the other hand, some more 'productive' individuals, such as Tenn, were more interested in learning just who these 'Hothian' people were. They hadn't learned much other than they seemed to be desperate to get off this planet. So she decided to employ her 'stealth skills' to steal a journal or something. Surely these guys must have something like that, right?

The chance arrived that night. Four guards armed with somewhat-primitive spears (seriously, they have a seemingly fully-functional base and they used cavemen sticks as weapons?) came to them and stared leading them back to their cell. Tenn spotted what seemed to be a tablet of some sorts hidden amongst a guard's layers of clothing. She made sure to be close to that one as she pretended to trip; like she predicted the impatient fella took her by the arm and dragged her quickly to catch up with the others, moment she took advantage of to silently slide the tablet out of his pocket and underneath her uniform.

When she was shoved inside the windowless cell again and the door closed shut, Tenn waited for a few more minutes until she was certain they were truly gone before taking the tablet out, to the delight of the others. It lasted only for a few seconds, however; the damn thing had a password.

"On the bright side, if it has a password it must mean it's got pretty important stuff, right?" Stink pointed out, trying to lift the mood up a bit.

"How are we supposed to figure out the password of somebody we don't know who happens to speak another language!"

"I thought you said your _PAK_ s were not working because of the famous virus the Sobrekt used on them." Dib pointed out.

"Actually, the virus doesn't affect the _PAK_ 's universal translator," Foxtrot explained with a yawn followed by some coughing. He was laying on his back and looking up at the ceiling. "It would be a nightmare to communicate."

"But we have never encountered these guys before, so their language, whatever it's called, is not in the databases." Purple added bitterly. He snatched the data pad from Tenn and took a good look at it. He noticed it didn't seem to have a camera, meaning it was probably an old model, at least by this species' standards. Who knows, the only known information about 'Hothians' was that their equipment DID work for a yet unexplained reason. Irk, if only Red were here, he was an ace at hacking stuff.

Wait a minute, wasn't the Dib-hyooman good at that too? He must be if he could keep up with an Irken even if said Irken was Zim. "Hey, you."

"My name is Dib, for the hundredth time."

"Whatever, think you could hack into this thing? I'll give you a donut."

Did he really think a simple donut was worth that much? Then again, Dib didn't get to eat much than half a hot-dog; the other half was eaten by Echo when he offered her a try. "Okay, let me take a look." He was given the pad and he started pressing buttons. Bless Tak's ship, he had been able to learn quite a few alien languages in his spare time. It took him a bit longer than usual because he wasn't used to this one in particular, but eventually he overrode the password, and to get some extra points he changed the language setting to english. "Done."

"Finally!" Purple snatched the pad back and starting searching through it.

Dib frowned. "Hey, what about the donut you promised?"

"I'll give you one the next time we're taken back to the ship." He ignored the Dib-hyooman's grunt (and additional comment he whispered to his 'borrowed' camera) and entered what seemed to be a notes app. There were many entries titled in dates.

"I knew it, they do have a diary!" Stink said triumphantly.

Skoodge tried to take a peek at the screen. He was at the back, however, and his fellow and taller invaders were blocking the view. How sad. "What does it say, My Tallest?"

"I'm trying to read if you'd shut up." Purple snapped as he entered the latest entry...

_Day 204,825._

_The prisoners seem to be progressing with the vessel. The boss returned their.. Egg now that we have a better leverage. Too bad. Some of the others, me included, haven't had scrambled eggs in a long time. Anyway, once the ship is repaired we will finally leave this forsaken planet…._

"What did I tell you?" Masouri inquired. "They want us to fix our ship so they get to escape while we rot here. Well, the only way they'll be able to get me away from my baby is to get it off my cold, dead claws!"

"Your... baby?" Dib raised an eyebrow

"What? You're going to tell me you haven't gotten attached to your own ship?"

Well, he couldn't argue with that.

"Wait a minute, day 204,825 since what? How even long is that?"

"Only one way to find out…" Purple scrolled all the way to the first entry; it took them a while due to the other 204,824 notes. How much space does this thing have?

_Day 1._

_Our world as we knew it has ended. I was of the lucky ones who managed to survive. A burning falling rock came from the sky and changed everything(_ "Sounds like what wiped out the dinosaurs", Dib-hyooman commented _.). Great black clouds have covered the sky and the temperature dropped; for the first time in my life I see snow down in the valley. It has never snowed down here._

_Day 5_

_The clouds won't part to allow sunlight in. I'm getting worried. The few crops that weren't obliterated by the falling rock, which I have dubbed the obliverator (_ Purple had to admit, it did sound fitting for a meteor that ended all life _), have started to wither from the lack of sunlight. I'm rationing what little I have, but it will not last long._

"Okay, so technically their planet went through the apocalipsis," Larb pointed out. "That certainly would explain the layer of clouds blocking out the sun. An asteroid the size of the Massive could have vaporized the planet's rocky surface and spread out the dust into the atmosphere. With no sunlight, there's no photosynthesis."

"What about the cone-shaped trees? Those looked pretty alive to me." Bob pointed out.

"They were sick, at least that's what I think. If you recall their bark was dark, dry and the leaves were falling off."

_Day 12_

_Thank the gods, I found more survivors. We decided to join forces until we can figure out what to do next, or find a way to survive. We chose a fella named Iraa as the leader; he seems to be more experienced in leadership, anyway. Besides, he was the one who brought us all together. He speaks in an almost fatherly way._

"Would you mind lowering your voices?" Echo groaned in a harsher tone than she intended. "I'm not feeling well."

"Me neither…" added Masouri with a sneeze.

Tenn and Purple exchanged a subtle glance. This had been happening for a while now. Since yesterday the Sobrekt seemed to have coughing fits and they were less active than one would expect of a kryvtor. Were they sick? If that was the case, perhaps it had to do with what they just learned about the meteor sending powdered debris into the planet's atmosphere.

Purple had a hunch as to what was going on. In these kind of events dust isn't the only thing that becomes airborne. There is also whatever substances the planet has to take into account. Carbon dioxide, sulfur, those kind of things. And since the clouds covering the planet acted like a literal greenhouse that kept all the toxins from escaping into space, the contaminated air and lack of fresh oxygen would poison all living things trapped inside… That's what he heard happened to the 'dinosaurs' on Earth.

This meant their scaly 'allies' would succumb to this eventually if they didn't get out of here soon. And if that happened they wouldn't be able to fix the Ibris. If they didn't fix the Ibris the Irkens would be stuck here forever, where they would eventually run out of donuts. Again.

"Hey, you need somebody to look after that egg so you can rest properly?" Skoodge spoke without thinking, not only earning looks of disbelief from the Sobrekt, but from his fellow Irkens as well.

"You think we're entrusting this egg to you?" Foxtrot question, raising a non-existing eyebrow.

"The little fella is not a bad alien… Even for an Irken," Masouri surprisingly defended Skoodge. "I think he can be trusted. Besides, I can tell neither of you wish to spend all night watching after the egg, right?" He yawned. Fixing the engine had taken more effort than he initially though, plus lately he hadn't been feeling well and though they didn't say it outloud he could tell his teammates weren't either. They needed to get some sleep.

Echo and Foxtrot exchanged a glance before the latter sighed in dismay. "Fine. Just explain to him what to do."

Purple noted how that mere positive comment about him was enough to almost send Skoodge into tears again. These shorter ones and their softie feelings; then again maybe they could use this to their advantage. It was the first time they had an hybrekt egg at their disposal.

Once Masouri was done explaining Skoodge how to keep the incubator running (it wasn't that hard, all he had to do was to make sure it stayed at the same temperature without getting too cold or too hot), he went to sleep to the Sobrekt's side of the 'cell'.

"I have no idea what you did, Skoodge, but you have him eating from your hand." Bob pointed out.

"I didn't really do much… I just suggested using the batteries from the camera for the Foodinator." the short Invader pointed at the device, now back on Dib's hands as he continued to record his 'evidence'..

"It doesn't really matter, what matters is that he trusts you for a reason I cannot comprehend," Purple muttered. Once he was certain the kryvtors wouldn't hear them(confirmed when Dib-hyooman started recording Foxtrot from upclose and even managed to open his jaws without a reaction), he whispered. "Be sure to subtly extract as much information about the indokuros as possible."

Skoodge blinked. "My Tallest?"

"You know, how they train them and all of that. It'll be even better if you get him to tell you what DNA they use to create them."

"I don't think he's that naive, My Tallest." Larb pointed out.

Irk, if only they had full access their _PAK_ tools they could try to extract some DNA from the Indokuro embryo to start making their own hybrids. Despite Skoodge's protests, Purple carefully took the incubator and took at look at the black egg. Sweet Irk, it was heavy, which probably meant the embryo was close to finishing its development. If they were fortunate they would witness its hatching.

Well, at the very least they'd get to at least study the hybrekt's early development.

* * *

_Somewhere in the Wilderness, at the same time..._

If Red thought the Indokuro caused Ilk nightmares, it was nothing compare to this abomination.

It was a tall beast covered in ashen gray fur, with arms of disproportionate length that nearly touched the floor with its long claws. Two long, curved horns with various shorter protrusions grew from its head, much like the deer-beast in that Earthen film Ilk would watch often as a smeet. Its elongated head, however, was frightening enough to give even him nightmares. Its sunken yellow eyes and hole-like nose made it look like a deer-thing skull.

He decided to call it a mendigo because it reminded him of said cannibal beast from Earthen fauna*.

It was hard to believe such a frightening-looking creature was doing a tug-of-war with Zim, GIR, Captain and Fury over the covering Zim had brought a while ago like kids throwing a tantrum. The latter two were probably just helping their 'idol' out,

"FIND YOUR OWN BLANKET, YOU FILTHY BEAST!"

"Okaaay, this is weird…" Ilk whispered awkwardly. Her glance was shifting between Zim and the mendigo.

"Zim, just leave that stupid blanket!" Red yelled. A smelly duvet wasn't worth getting killed, after all.

"Don't worry, My Tallest, Zim will get the blanket back for you!"

Oh, sweet mother of Irk! Did that little Irk-damned defective do the opposite of what he was told?! "You know, you should me more appreciative," he heard Blue say. "It's not everyday you find such a loyal soldier."

"Who asked you?" Red snarled at him. "You have no idea of what it is like to deal with him on a constant basis! In case you haven't noticed, he attracted that mendigo in the first place!"

Blue exchanged a confused glance with Lena before both said in unison. "Mendigo?"

The sound of cloth ripping apart brought their attention back to the skirmish. The blanket had been torn in half by the opposite forces of both sides. Zim yelled at the mendigo. "LOOK WHAT YOU DID, YOU FOUL BEAST!" The Mendigo responded with a roar of its own. Zim took out his sword. "I SHALL SMITE YOUUU!" He ran towards the beast, jumped towards its head…

...And the mendigo's jaws closed on him, swallowing the little defective whole.

GIR burst out into a hysterical wail. "MASTAAAAAH!"

Red stared agape at what just transcurred. He didn't need to look at the others to guess they were probably the same. It took him a few seconds to process what just happened. Did that thing just…? Did it really happen? Zim was…? He was finally…? Oh, sweet irk! Sweetest irk!

Sadly, the ecstasy didn't last long. Captain and Blue had taken out their weapons. The former growled in a low voice. "Hitorken Zim, I swear I will avenge you!"

"Are you serious?!" They ignored him and gave battle cries-or rather, battle roars- as they clashed against the mendigo. "Just forget it about it!" He barely stopped Ilk by the arm when she was about to join in. "Ilk, where do you think you're going?!"

"We have to help Zim!"

"Zim is gone, Ilk! And frankly I'm glad he is!"

He heard Lena gasp from behind. "How can you say that?! He might have been a walking disaster, but he still was a living Irken!"

Red groaned. "Okay, okay, I'll make a holiday in his honor. Happy?" In honor of his blessed demise.

Ilk wasn't satisfied. She picked a bunch of snow, shaped it into a ball and threw it at the Mendigo's head. The creature stopped right when he was about to eat Fury's head and turned towards them, its sunken eyes glowing in anger*. Oh, great, now it would come after them! Red barely managed to grab Ilk and Lena's hands and lead them away as the mendigo threw Fury on top of Captain. That certainly was going to hurt in the morning.

Red looked back and saw the mendigo catching up. Okay, running wouldn't do, one step from that monster was like twenty Irken steps. There was only one thing to do. "Lena, take Ilk and run!"

"My Tallest?!"

"I'll fend him off, you two get away!"

"But dad-!"

"GO!" He watched as Lena grabbed Ilk's hand and went into some trees. When he was certain they were at a safe distance he looked up, holding the sword just as Captain had told him, just as the mendigo came to a stop in front of him, baring its needle-like teeth. This was one of the situations in which he wished he hadn't let his combat abilities rust so much.

After a quick analyzing of the mendigo he figured those horns must be very sensitive, considering they seemed to be part of its body. He bet they would bleed if they were broken.

When the mendigo lunged with open jaws-which he was smart and quick enough to avoid activated the plasma blade on the sword and managed to slice the base of the horn with one swift blow. The mendigo shrieked in pain and responded too quickly for him to do something to dodge; the beast's outstretched claws struck his sides and sent him flying against a tree.

It the pain of the sharp tips having somehow gone through his armor and pierced his flesh wasn't enough, Red barely had time to turn himself around so his shoulder would get the hit instead of his PAK. He yelled in pain felt his bones crunching as he slid to the snowy ground, gritting his teeth and clutching the bleeding wounds with his good arm. He wanted to move, but his entire body was hurting, particularly his right shoulder. Usually his PAK would have taken care of it, but the bloody Sobrekt virus combined with whatever made technology useless here had left his already-frail body like a piece of glass.

Before the mendigo could move any closer, a missile exploded against its sides, temporarily knocking it backwards. GIR landed protectively in front of Red with all his weapon systems activated; the Irken noticed the robot's eyes were glowing a fierce crimson. He had gone into duty mode. Since when did the malfunctioning SIR have a duty mode, anyway?

" **Emergency protocol: protect the Almighty Tallest.** _"_ Gir stared intently at the mendigo as it got back on its feet with a shake of its head. " **Analyzing threat. Unknown species, carnivorous, over six meters of height. Sentience level: very** **low**."

A blue flash dashed through the night air. Red managed to see Blue jumping unto the mendigo's head and driving his plasma blade into its head with a loud battle cry; how come he didn't mind the pressurized stream of green blood that shot out of the hole and into his clothing Red didn't know. The mendigo shrieked, but it grabbed Blue by the waist and threw him against ground with such force it knocked him out. The monster's attention went back to Red.

" **Analyzing status of fallen ally: knocked unconscious by non-fatal contusion on head.** " GIR glanced at the mendigo's bleeding head. " **Analyzing status of threat: bleeding out from semi-fatal wound on skull.** " GIR turned around to face Red. " **Permission to terminate with threat, sire.** "

Red blinked. Was this the same SIR unit who had kissed his mouth a while ago? "Granted." He coughed.

GIR saluted and ran towards Blue's unconscious form to pick up his plasma kunai. Dodging the claw swipes and hopping unto the mendigo's head with great agility, GIR dove the kunai even deeper into the open wound. The mendigo gave one last shriek of agony before collapsing unto the ground, staining the snow around its head with blood.

GIR retrieved the blade from the creature's head and hurried towards the injured Irken. " **Are you alright, My Tallest?** "

"No...!" Red winced. "Go wake the lizard up, would you?"

" **Yes sir!** " GIR walked over to Blue and rubbed his hands to charge them. " **Clear!** " He sent volts of electricity through the kryvtor's body.

Blue jolted awake. "WHAT THE-?!" He noticed he was half-charred, and GIR looked... different. "What happened?! Where's the monster?!"

" **Threat has been terminated, kryvtor-ally. With all due respect, I borrowed your weapon to do so.** " GIR returned the blade to its owner.

"Okay..." Just when he thought the little robot couldn't be weirder. He noticed Red was laying down against the tree, clutching his... "By the ancestors! Irken, are you okay?!"

"Idiot, aren't you seeing me?!" Red snarled, only to grit his teeth in pain when his shoulder stung again. Blue decided to let the insult slip this once; he had called worst things to whoever was near when injured himself.

The rest caught up soon after. Captain was leaning unto Fury to keep himself on his feet, while Lena and Ilk went pale when they saw Red's state. Both were instantly by his side, with the former starting to check his state.

"What happened?" Captain asked in a pained, almost hoarse voice when he felt the scent of blood.

"Another one…" Red muttered under his breath.

"Your shoulder is dislocated," Lena whispered in worry. She carefully removed Red's hand from the wound. She gasped. "R-Red…!"

"What's wrong, Lena?!" Ilk asked in despair.

"Those wounds are very deep and they are bleeding too much; he's having an hemorrhage. We need to close it!"

"Great, why don't we go to the pharmacy in the corner…?" Red muttered again. "Oh, wait, we can't because it's a damn Irk-forsaken planet!"

"Dad, save your energy!" Ilk snapped with tears in her eyes.

They heard a plasma blade activating and something slicing through flesh coming from the mendigo's body. A sharp, glowing green blade cut out from within the flesh and hide, and a familiar Irken, all slimy and covered in green blood, emerged victoriously from within the corpse.

"HAHAHA! I, the Almighty Zim, have defeated this terrible monster all on my own!"

GIr's eyes changed back into cyan. "MASTAAAH!" His arms wrapped around Zim's waist. The little robot clung to Zim like a tick despite the invader's attempts at pushing him off.

Red couldn't afford to move his arm and smack his forehead without sending another wave of pain throughout his body, so he merely gave a loud, irritated groan, looking up in disappointment. Should have known it was too good to be true.

* * *

Thankfully the camp was not completely destroyed if you don't take into account there were lots of sickly-looking tree debris around. The fire was still burning, at least.

The issue was to take Tallest Red back there without moving him too much lest he lose five more liters of blood (Captain had even made a comment regarding Irken blood color, apparently he used to think it was green). Lena had Zim-who finally gave up in trying to get GIR to let go- bring one of the blanket halves to carry Red back to the camp in the manner of an hammock. While he did so, Lena snapped his dislocated shoulder back in place, earning another high-pitched scream of agony.

Once he was carefully laid down next to the fire, Lena removed yet-another torn part of her long skirt from the wounds, placed in an attempt to stop or at least decrease the bleeding, and threw it aside for now. It didn't do much.

"Daddy, I'm here!" Ilk cried, holding her father's hand tightly. He managed to give her a weak smile.

"It's okay, sweetie, I've had it worse…" his voice was hoarse and tired, his eyes were only half-open and he was so pale his skin almost looked yellowish.

"My Tallest, don't worry, Zim is here!" Zim had just grabbed his other hand. Lena noted how his voice has changed from the 'I'm superior than everyone else' to a more despaired one. Was he trying to get a similar gesture? She would have giggled at how Red actually reacted to that if the circumstances weren't so dire.

"Go back to your exile on your little backwater planet, you annoying defective."

Lena looked at Zim anxiously. Ilk had mentioned during one of their chats that Zim had no idea his mission was fake nor that the Tallest hated his guts; in fact, Ilk herself was also staring at her with wide, worried eyes.

His reaction was not what they expected. "NOOO! MY TALLEST IS DELIRIOUS! WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?!"

Lena blinked, and quickly glared at Captain and Blue when she noticed they were trying not to laugh, especially when Zim started running around the camp in a panic frenzy, yelling at the top of his lungs along with GIR; the latter was merely mimicking his master. Damn it, he was going to attract more of those things! "Zim! Do you want to save your Tallest's life?"

Zim instantly stopped and saluted. "Anything for my Tallest!"

"Good. Grab your bucket and bring me warm water." That would keep him busy for a while. The river was freezing cold and it would take Zim about an hour or two to figure out he'd have to warm the water himself.

"On it, doctor! GIR, let's go! Fury-beast, come to Zim!" To Lena's astonishment Fury did just that. He ran over to Zim, allowed both him and GIR to get on his back and then ran off. She subtly glanced at Blue, but he didn't seem bothered by what just transpired.

With Zim taken care of for the time being, Lena proceeded to remove the torn chestplate and armor around the waist. Her antenna went flat as she felt blood rushing to her face. She never imagined she'd see her Tallest undressed, not even under such circumstances. Lena noted a few scars across his chest, probably from his days as a soldier. Despite his unusual body structure, courtesy of becoming the Tallest, Lena found his frame... attractive.

"Can't you just stitch him up and be done with it?" Captain broke her out of her daze, sounding a bit impatient. "I mean, I've heard you Irkens heal quickly."

Lena frowned. "Usually we do, with our _PAK_ s, and allow me to remind you that you put a bloody virus on them! Thanks to it I can't access to the tools I'd need to stitch up the wound, and even if I did the _PAK'_ s healing isn't working because of… whatever messes up with technology here!"

"So he's going to die?"

Lena panicked and glanced at Ilk, grabbing her hand. "No, Ilk. I promise you, I will save his life." She heard an annoyed groan and looked down at Red. "Would you mind lowering your volume? I can't sleep…" he whispered, closing his eyes. _Now_ he was delirious from the blood loss.

"Doctor, may I make a… suggestion?" Lena turned towards Blue. There was a look of uncertainty in his face, but right then any ideas were welcomed, no matter who they came from. She nodded curtly. "If you cannot stitch up the wound, we have another method. Have you heard of wound cauterization?"

"A bit." Lena said. She knew only some vague details about it: it was a primitive practice consisting in putting a hot red piece of metal in a wound to mitigate bleeding and damage. However, the Irkens did not use that unorthodox method, for usually their PAKs did the job.

"We always use it on the battlefield when there are no medics available. It should stop the bleeding until we get access to medical equipment." Blue continued.

"Blue, this is not a battle-hardened soldier, this is an Irken we're talking about." Captain countered. Lena heard Red muttering that he was one, just very mellowed out. "I'm not sure his weaker body will bear such a extreme method."

"If you have a better idea, I'm listening." Lena told him curtly. His silence said more than enough. She looked down at Red. "Red, listen, we're going to try something… unusual with your injuries. Is that okay?"

"Mm-hmm." he said, shifting a bit in place.

"Doc, I don't think he's in the mental faculties for that." Captain commented.

Sadly he was right. She bet Red would have protested like hell if he were fully conscious. She nodded grimly. Blue took out a throwing knife from one of his pockets and went to the fire to heat its tip.

"Ilk, listen carefully," Lena took a hold of Ilk's hand again. "What we're going to try is going to hurt your dad very, very much. I need you to hold his hand very tightly, okay?" Ilk nodded quickly. Lena offered her a sympathetic smile before glancing at Captain. "You hold him down by the shoulders. Carefully, I just fixed a dislocated one."

"You don't need to tell me twice, doc." Captain did as told.

"Get your scaly hands off me, lizard-snake." Red growled.

Lena noted the frown on Captain's face at the word 'snake', but he said nothing. She guessed it held a sort of negative meaning in Sobrekt vocabulary. She spotted Blue coming closer with the hot-red knife, but she held up a hand to signal him to stop. There was one more thing she had to do. She tenderly took Red's face in her hands and looked into his eyes. "Red, I need you to trust me. This is going to hurt, but it will stop the bleeding. Do you trust me?" She thought it would take her a bit longer to convince him, but to her surprise he nodded.

"It's alright, my dear. Like I said I've had worst injuries…"

Okay. Taking that as a granted permission, Lena accepted the hot knife from Blue and signaled to hold Red's legs down. As she stared at the glowing hot metal blade she almost doubted, but there was no time to hesitate. Lena took a deep breath and brough the knife down to the wound.

* * *

True, he had obtained many injuries throughout his life as an Irken soldier, then Elite, which made him familiar to pain of many kinds. From the mild pain that lasted for only mere seconds like punch or kick blows, or being struck in the back when he didn't respond fast enough, to the more lasting pain of plasma shots burning his skin, blades and arrows piercing his flesh, among other things. Being a seasoned warrior, of course, he could put up with it.

A red hot blade touching an open, bleeding injury, however, made all those experiences look like mere smeet scratches. It felt like his skin was on fire and the blood was the oil.

Gritting his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut, he tried his best to keep the blood-freezing scream inside his throat, but the longer he felt the knife's tip the harder it was. Eventually his jaws were forced open by the volume of the yell. His limbs automatically flailed in response to the sensation, trying to flee or at least get it to stop. But he was held down tightly by the Sobrekt on both shoulders and legs; try as he might he could not escape their grip.

Red could feel a gentler hold on his left hand. It was accompanied by frantic whispers. His antenna were twitching uncontrollably trying to pick it up, but he was in so much pain he could not distinguish any coherent words coming from the smeet to his left… who was she again? He could not remember…

For how long was he forced to endure this torture? Hours? Days? He couldn't tell anymore. But eventually the blade was removed from his skin and the wretched burning left with it. Bless Irk. His side was aching terribly, but the falling bits of frozen water falling from above helped a bit. Brrr! It's so cold out here, somebody bring a blanket!

When he opened his eyes a bit, his vision was blurry. He could discern blurry dark shapes around him, but he could not hear what they said. One of the shadows, the one to his right, placed a hand to his forehead, causing him to tilt his head to the right to see who dared to touch him.

He saw her.

She was still as beautiful as the last time he saw her. That sparkling green skin as soft as the silk used for his pillows and blankets. Those curly antenna that reminded him of a dark nebula spiralling into a oval-shaped curl. And her eyes… Her beautiful azure eyes as blue as his favorite doughnut icing, along with those lovely eyelashes…

How could it be? He thought she was dead. Was _he_ dead? Had she maybe come to receive him into the afterlife or something like that? Whatever the reason, his squeedly-spooch almost soared. With whatever strength he had he managed to lift his arm and brought his hand to her cheek. It was so warm and soft just like he remembered.

He called out to her in a weak whisper. "Miyuki…"

Everything went black.

* * *

Lena was left speechless. She knew Red was delirious, but she didn't think he was that much. He had just… touched her cheek-her _PAK_ nearly sent sparks from the flurry of emotions that brought- and called her Miyuki… As in, Tallest Miyuki? Sweet irk, she wished a pile of snow from those trees would fall on top of her.

An uncomfortable cough from Captain momentarily distracted her. "Okay, doc, need something else?" Clearly he was trying to find a 'polite' excuse to leave. Blue had the same expression.

"Y-Yes…" She touched Red's forehead. A mild fever was starting. "Could you go make sure Zim hasn't drowned? That water would come in handy." The mention of Zim was enough to send both Sobrekt away for the time being.

"Is he going to be okay?" Ilk asked with a small sniffle.

"He'll be okay. He lost consciousness because of the pain, but he should awaken tomorrow." Lena explained softly. She took a closer look at the charred skin; it was a mess of pink blood and crust-like charred skin. The latter was a result of the blood having coagulated upon contact with the knife's heated blade, but like Blue had said the hemorrhage had stopped. Still, she better clean that up as soon as the water was brought to prevent infection. "Sorry you had to see your father like this…"

"I'm fine. I mean, dad is a soldier, I'm sure he'll get better," Ilk wiped some of the dried tears on her cheeks with her sleeve. "He's the Tallest, after all."

Lena couldn't help but avert her gaze. "Indeed, he is…"

"Are you upset, Lena?"

"No, it's not that… it's just he called me… Ilk, I know it's not my place to ask this, but is the Miyuki he mistook me with the person I think?"

Ilk nodded. "Dad met Tallest Miyuki when they were young. You could say she was his first love before… she died. You do have a bit of resemblance to her, you know."

"I've heard that sometimes…"

Soon Zim and GIR returned, accompanied by the Sobrekt. The former was about to put the bucket on top of the fire to warm it up when Lena quickly told him to bring it over the way it was. To her surprise, Zim complied without any loud rambling or yelled proclamation. He must have noticed Red was asleep and didn't want to evoke his wrath by waking him up… before long he had collapsed unto the ground, snoring lightly with his tongue sticking out. GIR followed suit; he made sure to fall asleep very close to his master, probably because of what transpired.

"You should go rest." Lena told everyone else. "It's been a rather long day, and you two will need to save up your energy." She glanced at Captain and Blue, who exchanged knowing glances. Fury was the first to collapse on the snow with a low growl.

"It's okay, I can stay up, I wouldn't like you to be alone…"

"Thank you, Ilk, but you're the youngest out of all of us, I can't ask you to stay up all night. Your dad wouldn't like that, would he?"

Ilk seemed to understand it. She squeezed Red's hand one last time before going closer to the fire. Lena watched as Blue offered the smeet one of the furry blankets he had made the previous day to stay warm; Lena exchanged a glance with Captain. He didn't seem bothered by the fact his subordinate was courting the 'Package' they were supposed to take back home. Lena glanced down at Red's sleeping face. She was certain he wouldn't be so cool about it when he found out.

Tearing yet another piece of her skirt and submerging it in the bucket, Lena spent most of the night cleaning Red's wound.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *The creature is inspired on the Wendigo, the cannibalistic creature from native american lore. Red calls it mendigo because he didn't exactly remember how it was pronounced.
> 
> *Frozen reference, when Anna throws a snowball at Marshmallow and angers him.
> 
> Next Chapter: Blue and Ilk start working out their issues, while the Irkens get an important Sobrekt history lesson...


	11. The Reasons Why

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> December's here, just like the holidays! Hopefully I'll get to include at least one Christmas reference for it.
> 
> We're halfway through the fic already, and things will get even better. This week we'll learn why the Sobrekt held the Moondrop Flower in such high regard.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!

_She might only be six, but Ilk was no fool. She could tell something had happened._

_She heard noises from the corridor outside her door. Footsteps retreating, yells being cut off, something spilling, a creak, and then she saw a pair of golden eyes with slit pupils staring directly at her. Ilk bundled herself in her blankets and pillows. No fighting came. She waited, but the monster never came to eat her. Why?_

_The next thing she knew dad was next to her, shushing and telling her it was going to be okay. When she caught a glimpse of various Elites swarmed at her door on top of someone, dad placed a cloth over her mouth, instructing her to take a breath. When she obeyed, she felt sleepy and closed her eyes._

_She woke up sometime later to find herself alone. Ilk was afraid. Where was daddy? She slowly climbed out of bed, holding her plush irkorse(an Irken mount from the olden days) and made her way to the door, out into the corridor and towards the_ Massive's _bridge. He was there most of the time, and there were occasions he'd stay there up late with Uncle Pur._

_However, she heard him inside the medical ward as she passed through there. She could also hear Uncle Pur alongside others._

" _You should have let me finish interrogating him."_

" _Red, you nearly_ killed _him, for Irk's sake!"_

" _In case you didn't notice, his accomplice did the same to me while he tried to take Ilk! If Larb and Tenn hadn't been around her room- OUCH! Be careful!"_

" _Try not to move much, My Tallest."_

_Was daddy hurt? Ilk wanted to step in, but she was curious. What were they talking about? Who had daddy interrogated? Who had tried to take her? So she stayed just outside the door, clutching her doll close and twitching her antenna._

" _Weren't you satisfied enough with having rubbed it in his face that his accomplice couldn't touch us?"_

" _Of course not! I_ need _to know what they want with Ilk! This is not the first time! They almost got her in Foodcourtia…!" Foodcourtia? Was dad talking about the time they had to leave in a rush for a reason he wouldn't explain?_

" _Look, I get that, but don't you realize it?! We have a Sobrekt prisoner! A bloody_ sobrekt _! Imagine all the information we can get from him!"_

 _Dad scoffed. "You said it yourself, Pur, it's a Sobrekt. Those lizards_ never _talk. They will die before revealing anything."_

" _We don't have to ask him, we could just put a cable in his brain and suck the info out of him." Ilk imagined Uncle Pur glancing at a random scientist. "We can do that, right?"_

" _C-Certainly, My Tallest!"_

" _There, see? You, go prepare the cable-brain thing. You, go sedate the prisoner. You, bring me donuts, all this assassination attempts opened my appetite."_

_Ilk didn't notice she had moved too close to the door, causing it to open automatically, calling the attention of all within the room. She froze._

_"Ilk? What are you doing here, sweetie?" Dad asked, coming closer to her. She noticed some small droplets of dark green on his robe._

" _There was a monster in my room, daddy…" she said with a small whimper._

_She thought she saw a flash of panic in dad's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure. "There, there, it's okay, sweetie, it was just a nightmare," He picked her up and held her close, stroking the back of her head. "Let's go back to your room, okay? I'll stay with you."_

_Ilk nodded, holding her plush even closer._

_As she lay her head against dad's chest, she heard him whisper back to uncle Pur. "You go deal with…_ the problem."

* * *

_Next Morning..._

Ilk tried to sleep. She really did. But there were too many things going on inside her head. Between worrying for dad's health, dealing with a Sobrekt 'courtship' and wondering if the others were okay. No matter how much she tried to find a comfortable position to sleep in and let her exhaustion do the rest, the blessed sleep wouldn't come.

Or maybe it had to do with the fact Blue had chosen to sleep a few steps away from her. She creaked one eye open to see if he was still there. He was. She found his manner of sleeping a bit amusing; he was curled up on top of a furry hide almost like an Earth-canid, twitching the tip of his ail every now and then.

Ilk took a look around. It must have been at least an hour or two, judging by the ashy remains of the bonfire. This explained why the air had gotten cooler a while ago.

How come the others didn't notice? Ilk glanced around to see how they were doing. _Fury_ had curled up around Blue protectively. Zim and GIR were still in the same spot he had collapsed and fallen asleep on. Captain didn't curl up like Blue, he merely lay belly-down and remained still, like Earthen-crocodiles. Lena had fallen asleep next to dad, who had most of the blanket on top of him, probably to keep the snowflakes from gathering on top of the wound.

Silently, Ilk got unto her feet and silently walked off the camp towards the nearest river. She got another coughing fit on the way there. She wasn't sure if she was getting ill due to the cold temperature or if it was something else entirely. She wasn't the only one, she noticed Captain, Blue and even _Fury_ having the same problem.

Maybe she'd ask Lena about it.

Once she got to the river she took a few handfuls of water. Was it her imagination or did water in _all_ planets taste the same? Earth was the exception, it was all contaminated and undrinkable to species who don't hail from there.

A snort from behind startled Ilk into tripping on a slippery rock and into the stream's half-frozen waters. Brrrr! Sweet Irk, it was freezing! Ilk quickly turned around to glare at the perpetrator: _Fury_.

"You idiot!" She snapped at him; she was so angry she didn't care to call him with insulting words. He just tilted his head, purring lightly and leaning in a bit. It almost felt like he was apologizing.

Once the initial anger vanished, Ilk walked out of the river, but _Fury_ didn't go away. "What?" she asked him, unintentionally sounding a bit rougher than intended; on her defense, she was soaking wet and freezing to the bone! He tilted his head again, this time looking confused. "Do you want something?" she felt silly talking to him. It wasn't like he could reply, right? He did seem to _understand_ what she was saying, however.

Ilk walked away, and he followed. No matter where she headed to he quietly went after her. She considered running. Why was he so interested in her, by the way? Ilk turned around to take a better look at the indokuro. He was _very_ big, at least from her perspective he was. The tip of her antenna barely reached his chest, while the tip of Blue's head reached his lower jaw.

She wondered why he was being so docile. From what she had heard in hushed whispers back on the _Massive_ , **hybrekts** (term uncle Purple came up with to refer to the Sobrekt's genetically-engineered hybrids)were supposed to be savage and aggressive to anyone but the Sobrekt themselves, yet this one hadn't even growled _once_ at her. Did it have to do with the moondrop flower running through her veins? Only one way to find out.

"Hey, _Fury_ …" Ilk slowly reached out her arm up to his head. "I think we started with the left foot… Or talon…" Her arm didn't even reach half of his chest. _Fury_ seemed to notice. He lowered his head to touch the palm of her hand. Ilk felt a shiver run down her spine when the she felt the tip of his snout pressing against her glove. She tentatively stroked his nose, earning a content purr in return.

Was it her imagination or did the corners of _Fury_ 's lips just curve upwards ever so slightly?

The tension vanished and Ilk found herself scratching Fury's neck. To her surprise he reacted by wagging his tail and lifting one of his back talons. Were this quirks unique to him or was it an all-species trait? When she scratched a particular spot under Fury's throat, he gave a loud growl-like purr and fell forward, his eyes closed in contentment and his body completely relaxed*.

Sweet Irk, what had she just done?

" _Fury_?" She poked at his side, but got no reaction.

She jumped when she heard Blue's voice. "I see you found _Fury_ 's weak spot."

"Oh, Blue!" her cheeks turned red and her antenna went flat against her head. "I'm sorry, I was just…!"

"It's alright. He seems to like you very much, anyway…" Blue said simply. He rubbed Fury's head in a particular spot, which caused the indokuro to wag his tail almost like a dog.

"Just how many 'weak spots' does he have?"

"I'm afraid I cannot disclose that information. Besides, even if I told you all indokuros are different."

Up to now he hadn't brought up the topic of courtship or anything related to it, so she guessed it was okay if they chatted, right?

"You couldn't sleep either?" he asked, bringing Ilk out of her thoughts.

"No." She shook her head.

"Don't worry, your dad will be okay. From what I've seen, he is a tough irken." Blue said assuringly. His right hand twitched, alongside his talon claw; he had wanted to place a hand on Ilk's shoulder, but he wasn't certain if it would be well-received.

"I know, but still… I've never seen him hurt like this before. I mean, I'm so used to seeing him just snack around back on the _Massive_ that I never imagined he'd be in a situation such as this."

"Ilk, this might sound a bit too personal but…"

Ilk noticed he was looking at her empty back. She guessed what the question was. "I don't have a _PAK_."

"I thought you Irkens needed those things to survive."

"Most do, but I'm… different. I was conceived and birthed naturally by a female. She died when I was born, so the Control Brains sent me to dad because I had to be looked after by somebody."

Blue was silent for a few seconds. "Sorry about your mother..."

To his surprise, Ilk only shrugged. "It's alright. I never knew her and neither did dad , so it's not such a big deal," Her crimson eyes did show a hint of sadness, however. "Sometimes I do wonder how it would feel like to have a mom."

Blue looked away with a sigh. His gaze was intently fixed on the dark sky. "If it makes you feel better, I kinda know how you feel."

"Do you?" Ilk raised an inexistent eyebrow and perked up an antenna. There was a distant, maybe even vacant look to Blue as he stared into the distance.

"I didn't get to know my father very much. He and my grandfather were sent on a special mission by the _Shuryo_ when I was a hatchling. They never returned."

"What kind of mission?"

Blue shifted uncomfortably. "The kind where you know you're probably not going back home." Thankfully she didn't press the issue any further. His crest bristled-the equivalent of blushing in kryvtors- when he felt some gentle taps on his leg.

"I'm sorry…" Ilk whispered. She would have patted his shoulder, but he was way taller than her. "And since we're on it, thank you for trying to save dad yesterday."

"It was the least I could do for you after… Well, we kidnapped you. He was right in that sense; we wouldn't be in this mess if we had found another way."

Ilk sighed. "What dad and uncle Pur did wasn't right either."

"But what they did saved your life. It wasn't the right way either, but if they hadn't done so perhaps none of us would be here to begin with..." Blue smiled a bit. "Hey, since we're on the open field, we never quite finished the lesson from before, did we?"

Ilk couldn't help but smirk. "You mean after I kicked your scaly ass?"

Blue chuckled. "Exactly. Want to continue it?"

Ilk nodded eagerly. It's not everyday one got a combat lesson from a Sobrekt.

* * *

_Meanwhile, on the camp..._

The first thing Red felt when he woke up was a terrible soreness on his side. With a grunt of pain he lifted part of the covers to take a look at the cause; his waist was wrapped in a sort of black bandage.

Red took a look around the camp. It was still nighttime, but he could see the outline of pale gray crimson from behind the trees. Maybe the sun would come up soon? He hoped so, the blackness was pretty intimidating even for him. Captain had already woken up and was currently working on starting the fire again. Zim and his robot were still asleep. Ilk, Blue and the Indokuro were nowhere to be seen; were they taking a walk? He better go make sure Ilk was okay-

Red grit his teeth when his bandaged waist stung again. What happened to him? He recalled being almost torn open by a mendigo's claws, but everything after that was a blur... Guess he'd ask Lena.

Speaking of Lena, he found her sleeping right next to him. There was a bucket of dirty bloodied water nearby along with some torn pieces of black fabric nearby. Had she stayed up all night looking after him? He noticed her skirt, once reaching down to the floor, now reached only to her knees, exposing her delicately thin legs. Blinking, Red stared at the piece of clothing and then at his 'bandages'.

She had used her own skirt to cover his injuries.

Red couldn't help but feel moved by this. She _truly_ was a remarkable Irken. Lena trembled and unconsciously wrapped her arms around her frame; he noticed she wasn't covered. He had to shift a bit, but he managed to release enough of the blanket without exposing himself to the cold. Guess fighting with that mendigo over it _was_ worth it after all.

His hand accidentally brushed against Lena's shoulder as he put the other half of the covering on top of her; she was freezing cold.

Red swallowed hard. Would she mind if…?

Red pulled the Irkenette closer and started rubbing some warmth unto her. Lena shifted in place, but didn't show any signs of waking up. Her skin was _so_ soft… One of his fingers ended up stroking her cheek, which in turn caused her to snuggle deeper into the warm embrace. Red felt blood rushing to his cheeks just as his squeedly-spooch squirmed.

"By the ancestor's sake, can't you wait to go to a hotel or something?"

Red frowned and looked back at Captain, who had lit up the fire and was warming himself up. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"I mean, I get if you and your mate haven't been… intimate for a while, but-"

"Wait, what?!" Red's cheeks became even redder. "She's not my mate, you scaly-brain! She's just one of the doctors working in the _Massive_!" he hissed in a low voice to avoid waking Lena up.

Captain merely blinked and put on a quizzical expression. "She's not the mother of…?"

"No! What on irk made you think that?!"

"You're embracing her and yesterday you had quite the… position."

"I'm just keeping her warm so she won't get the frostbite, and what happened yesterday was an accident!" Red snarled in embarrassment. "Just what gave you the impression Lena and I were mates?!"

This time it took a few seconds for the Sobrekt to respond. And when he finally did Red noted his spines had bristled considerably. "My apologies. It's just that my people see physical touch, especially close contact, as something... intimate."

"Physical touch? Intimate? That's the most absurd thing I've ever heard, and I hear absurdities almost every day!" Red glanced at Zim with contempt.

"Have you noticed I've never come into contact with any member of my squadron?" Red nodded. Captain continued, though he sounded rather uncomfortable. "We reserve touching only for _close_ people. A mild contact, such as grabbing a shoulder, is more or less acceptable, but other things such as… well, _hugs_ …"

"Okay, I got it, you don't need to go into details." Red interrupted. The last thing he needed right now was to imagine two Sobrekt making eggs. "Hey, where are Ilk and the blue-guy?"

"Guess she's taking a walk," Captain noticed the look on Red's face. "And before you think of freaking out, Blue is most likely with her. He won't let anything happen to her, she's very important to him."

Red narrowed his eyes. "What is _that_ supposed to mean, 'very important to him'?"

Captain froze. Damn it, he had said too much. Thankfully, however, Blue and Ilk returned at that very moment before Red could interrogate him any further. Both Ilk and Blue were laughing and talking amiably, followed by _Fury_ short after.

"Mmmmrr…." Red panicked when he felt Lena stirring in his arms and quickly let go of her just as she rubbed one of her eyes open. "What…?"

"Ah, good morning, doc!" Captain greeted her. "About time you joined in."

Shortly after Zim and GIR joined the rest in the land of the waking people. There was still plenty of meat from yesterday's game, so there was no need to go hunting that early; it was far too dark to find any animals, anyway. As always, the Sobrekt ate their meal raw, the Irkens cooked theirs before consumption and ZIM screamed and went to hide under the blanket. GIR tried eating raw meat, only to throw up on top of Captain's tail, much to Red's amusement.

Red bitterly noted his armor had been pierced in the area matching his own wounds with large gaping holes. Lena helped him get on his feet, but he had difficulty walking without his ribs hurting. She suggested taking a break for at least half of the day to see if it passed. Captain, of course, didn't like the idea, but Blue unsurprisingly sided with Ilk, who in turn had sided with Lena. Captain decided to back down for the time being.

"Hey, Captain, mind if I ask you something?"

"What is ir, Irken?"

Red grunted. "Would it kill you not to call me 'Irken'? I have a name, and since you can't use it at the very least you could address me properly."

Captain rolled his eyes. Irkens and their arrogance. "Was that your question?"

Great, he had annoyed him. Red almost changed his mind, but the issue had been bugging him ever since… four years ago. "Why was that flower that important to your people?" He felt a shiver down his spine when Captain and Blue stopped whatever they were doing and stared intently at him. "I mean, if you gave us all this trouble for it you must have a _very_ good reason, right?"

Blue and Captain exchanged a brief, grim glance. "I was wondering how longer it would take you to actually ask that, you know." The latter pointed out.

"Don't take me wrong, but frankly I _still_ think you're overracting over a plant."

Ilk and Lena frowned at him disapprovingly, shouting in unison. "Dad/Red!"

"My Tallest does have a point, Sobrekt-beasts," Zim dipped his spoon in, both figuratively and literally as he ate one of the 'chocolate puddings' GIR had casually stored in his head compartment. "Why go all this trouble over Ilk-smeet having the flower? Couldn't you have simply asked her to give it back?" Red snorted. Zim had misunderstood the whole story and merely thought the Moondrop Flower was in a pot somewhere in the _Massive_.

The next question spoke for itself, however. "Why don't just get another one?"

Red almost prayed to the _Control Brains_ that Captain show at least a tiny bit of any negative emotion towards Zim. Sadly it didn't happen; the croc simply sighed. "If we could, we would have, _hitorken_ Zim."

"Why can't you?" Ilk pressed on. "I hear the flower was… unique, but what's done is done. What were you planning to do? Bury me on the ground and hope I would turn into a flower myself?"

Blue almost chuckled, but the seriousness of the topic refrained him from doing so. "First I think we should explain why we hold the Moondrop Flower in such high regard."

"Yaaay, story time!" GIR took out yet _another_ popcorn bag from his head compartment.

"Do you have any extra bags?" Red blurted out, putting his craving for _any_ sort of snack over his common sense. When little robot handed him a second bag of popcorn he took a good fistful; ah, snacks!

"Are you done?" Captain asked impatiently. He continued when no one said a word. "To begin with, you all know about Drilo's disease by now, don't you?"

The Irkens nodded; Red had the feeling Zim didn't really know, he just played along to avoid looking like an ignorant in his eyes. How pitiful.

"Then you've probably heard it's such a rare disease that there are only outbreaks every thousand years in the Dylinae system, where Sobr is located. It is very deadly to most species, that's right, but it's nothing compared to what it does to those who hail from the planets in Dylinae," Captain glanced at Red. "What symptoms did your smeet have when she caught it?"

Red pulled Ilk closer as he recalled how he felt when he first saw her in that state. His tiny smeet in a medical capsule with lots of cables attached to her body, pale and sick. "She had a very high fever and wouldn't eat anything. The medical drones said she was in pain."

"Both of you were fortunate she was an Irken; had she been a Sobrekt or a Kryvtor it would have killed her in less than three moons, in the meantime she would have gone through nasty skin molts, vomiting and fits of hysterical and destructive madness. Victims have to be restrained down to keep them from hurting themselves and others."

Red's grip on Ilk's hand tightened when he felt her trembling.

"There was an outbreak like never before a thousand Sobrekt years ago. We lost three of Dylinae's planets to the disease, it would be a matter of time before it was transmitted to our homeworld. If that had happened, we might as well gone extinct. Try as they might, our medical units could not find a cure nor what caused the disease at the time…" Captain stared into the fire. "You could have seen the giant bonfires used to burn the bodies from the planets' surface."

Blue took it from there; the absent-minded look on Captain's eyes as he stared into the flames let him know he was… unwilling to go on. "It was then that we found them: An explorer came upon an uncharted part of Sobr at that time; a whole field with blooming white flowers, all born from a single teardrop that rained down from one of our moons. He took a sample back to the medical units to have it checked. They discovered the flower's healing properties, mixed with other medicinal herbs from the other planets, could not only cure Drilo's disease, but also grant whoever consumed self-regenerative abilities. Thanks to the Moondrop flowers the disease was eradicated.

"It was a bittersweet victory, however; the frenzy to produce as much of the cure as possible was so much that the flower was wiped out to near extinction; each specimen could only be used once before withering away. In the end there was only _one_ left…" Blue gave Red a grim, narrow-eyed stare. "...The one _you_ stole."

Red merely stared at the kryvtor with wide eyes. Blue continued before he could say anything. "Do you understand now why we 'make such a ruckus over a _stupid plant_ '? That 'stupid plant' was a symbol of hope in the darkness to our people as well as the source of our limb-regeneration traits. At the time you and your fellow Tallest stole it there was a small outbreak of the disease in Sobr-"

" _Enough_."

Red felt a shiver run down his spine; there was an undercurrent of… something in Captain's voice. He was staring at the bonfire with a dark look to his eyes; there wasn't any anger there, only… sadness. Captain stood up and walked away from the camp without a uttering another word.

"What's up with him?" Zim inquired, oblivious to the corporal language.

Blue shook his head. "All I can tell you is that saving Ilk's life cost the lives of many others."

* * *

 _The_ Ibris, _Hothian base, at the same time..._

"Is the coast clear?"

"What coast? We're nowhere near a coastline."

"It's a way to ask if there's no one around to- Argh, just tell me if any guards come to check on us!"

Bob nodded and went back to the _Ibris_ ' stair-entrance.

The Hothians seemed pretty desperate for them to fix the ship for some reason if they woke them up this early to work on it. Well, at least Masouri and the others pretended they were doing so back in the engine room supervised by a guard or two.

Meanwhile, Dib, Purple and Foxtrot stayed behind at the lounge in the lower area under the excuse they didn't feel very well. Once the guards were gone they connected the stolen data pad from the Hothians to the _Ibris_ 's long-distance communication panel to see if they could somehow contact either of their respective flagships to secure their rescue. After half an hour it proved to be futile, however. This piece of technology might work, but communications did not.

"Stupid piece of junk!"

"Don't call the _Ibris_ like that in front of Masouri or there will be trouble."

Purple glared at the tablet. "I'm talking about _that_ thing! What's the point with it working if we still can't contact anybody!"

"Okay, so these guys somehow make technology work, but they still can't seem to communicate…" Dib rubbed his chin in thought. "... _Or_ they can't communicate over very long distances."

"What do you mean?" Foxtrot inquired.

Dib guessed he wanted him to explain. "I mean, from what we've been able to decipher from the 'diary', as you call it, I don't think these guys even left their version of the Dark Ages before the apocalypse happened. What if the reason we can't use this tablet to communicate outside the planet, or this solar system even, it's because they didn't reach _that_ level of technology."

"You mean like you hyoomans who have barely even reached their own moon?" Purple inquired rather disdainfully.

Ouch. "Yeah, pretty much like that."

"Now that you mention it… Those ships that brought us here had a Vortian air to them, don't you think? It had traces of other races too, it almost feels like the result splicing engineering pieces from various species," Purple snapped his fingers. "Ah, now that I recall a few years back some vortian ships and their cargo went missing when passing through uncharted space. These ships could be the same! But that still doesn't explain why the signal can't leave the atmosphere if they somehow crafted this pad from Vortian technology. Those goats might have rock heads, but they are quite the engineers."

"Well, they can't be _completely_ uncommunicated. How would they talk with a team that is sent out into the wilderness…" Foxtrot snatched the pad from Purple and started pressing random buttons.

"What are you doing?" Dib asked, leaning in to take a better look at the screen.

"I'd work faster if you got your ridiculously-enormous head a little bit farther."

Dib only heard a small chirp-growl sound, and turned to Purple for a translation. The Irken rolled his eyes. "He asked you to move your giant head away."

"You-! My head is _not_ big!"

"Just face it, kid, your head is _enormous_."

"It isn't!"

"It is."

"It's not!"

"Bingo!" Foxtrot made a sound Dib interpreted as a sort of laughter shout and showed them the pad, showing a map of the area around the Hothian base. There were various blue spots scattered kilometers around, most of them moving in a slow pace. "Just as I thought! The signal can't leave the planet, but _these_ pads can be used to call the individual teams within forty miles!"

Purple scoffed sarcastically. "Oh, good! How does that _help_? We're going to call the bad guys so they realize we got one of their communication pads?"

"Of course not. Take a look at this," a few buttons and codes lates, the map changed into a sound-frequency screen. "I can hack into the communications system to…" Foxtrot frowned at the lens of Dib's camera. "Are you serious?"

"Go on, just pretend I'm not here!" Dib merely said without bothering to ask Purple for a translation this time. The kryvtor's face said it all.

Foxtrot sighed and continued. "Anyway, when I hack the communications we can listen to any conversation the Hothians are having from the other communication pads."

Purple raised his antenna. "Do it!" Foxtrot sent in an array of codes and picked up one of the transmissions.

' _Fou- em- et?_

' _-Ive, sir.'_

' _-p loo-,eed th- ve!'_

The transmission ended.

"Okay, perhaps it needs some more adjusments…" Foxtrot said sheepishly.

"Let me try it," Purple said. "I'm more familiarized with Vortian technology, and this thing is definitely 70% Vortian, 30% everything else." Thankfully the kryvtor didn't hesitate and handed him the tablet on command.

Just like Purple thought, this tablet was of the models he'd often work with back in his Elite days; it had some pieces of Meekrobian origin, but he was sure he could fix the static by the next day.

Thankfully they'd learn where the Hothians kept Red and the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I inspired on Toothless from Httyd for this part. In the first film he'd 'faint' when scratched under the chin. I thought it would be a nice reference to have Fury do something similar. His relationship to Blue is somewhat similar to that of Hiccup and Toothless.
> 
> Next chapter: After being cut off from each other for days, both parties finally manage to communicate...
> 
> See you next time!


	12. Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! Last week of class! Holidays! Hopefully I'll have more time to draw more fanart and write.
> 
> Things are going to heat up a bit between Ilk's party, you'll see why soon enough. AND we get to learn more about the planet they're in.
> 
> Enjoy!

"Can I play with it?"

"For the hundredth time, GIR, no!"

"Whyyyy?!"

Zim grunted. "Because you'll end up breaking it!" This caused the little robot to burst out in yet another hysterical fit.

"Would you two be _quiet_?!" Red snapped from his spot near the fire. He rubbed his temples. "It's bad enough I have to put up with _you_ already, Zim! Besides, who said you could play with the map?"

"Given that Captain-beast has gone to vent off somewhere, I'm taking the liberty to trace our next route to rescue Tallest Purple."

"More like tracing the path to our doom…" Red stared at GIR skeptically as the _SIR_ snatched the tablet from Zim and ran around the camp. It was hard to believe this was the same robot who had saved his life from the mendigo. It had happened before, right? Back on the cliff he had gone… functional for a few brief seconds, long enough to suggest something useful.

It had to be the thing messing with technology. Perhaps GIR's… _unique_ properties caused the opposite effect. Instead of not working properly or deactivating, the loose screws in his head went back into place or something (literally)*.

When GIR ran close to him, Red snatched him up by his single antenna. "Okay, you little metal menace, let me check something out…"

GIR didn't even protest as the data pad was taken from his hand. Instead he took out the fake, second-hand piggy Zim had made for him. "Can I play with Piggy?"

Red rolled his eyes. "Whatever, just _don't_ move." He said, connecting GIR's auxiliary cable to the tablet.

"My Tallest…?"

"What are you doing, Red?"

"I'm trying to see if I can trigger his duty mode, or at the very least see if his scanners and communications can be used to better the pad's."

Zim almost went pale. He still remembered the last time _that_ happened. "M-My Tallest, I don't think that's a good idea… I'm afraid to say GIR's duty mode is defective. When I tried to do that he turned against _me_ , his master! He even went as far as to say I was a _threat_ to the mission*!"

Red rolled his eyes. _I wonder 'why'_.

"It's the first time I've seen a _SIR_ unit behave in such a way, actually…" Lena pointed out. GIR had proceeded to make mini snow-pigs to eat them, or throw them at Zim and _Fury_ in a playful manner.

"I'll explain later…" Red murmured, sending yet another array of codes into the pad. Okay, if what he had in mind worked he should go into duty mode in about…

GIR's eyes flashed crimson and his posture went to a stiff salute. " **Reporting for duty, My Tallest!** "

Zim yelled and hid behind Ilk while Blue leaned in, interested. "What did you do exactly?"

"I worked with a _SIR_ of my own back when I was an Invader, so I know a trick or two about the duty mode." Red said with an undertone of pride.

"GIR, who is you master?" Ilk asked the robot. She had to make sure her father hadn't programmed him in secret to kill, hurt or somehow harm Zim in any way. Yes, she _did_ believe him capable of _that_.

GIR blinked and searched the camp; he spotted Zim just as he took a nervous peek from behind Ilk's back. " **Irken Zim is my master. However, since the Tallest is present, his orders can override any given by master.** " Zim visibly relaxed. GIR didn't seem to remember the _last_ time.

"Okay, GIR, now that you're connected to this… pad-thing filled with information that is most likely important, can you tell me who are these Hothians?"

" **Yes, sir! Compiling data from vortpad...** " GIR's eyes started to rain with long lines of numbers and letters. Ah, so it is a Vortpad? It certainly didn't look like one. " **Planet Hoth is not registered in the Empire's databases, but I have found several pieces of information within this Vortpad. Permission to assimilate information into databases.** "

He could even do _that_? "Fine, just tell me where on Irk we are!"

" **Assimilating…** " Another rain of codes on GIR's eyes. " **Assimilation complete. Hoth is the sixth planet in a yet-unnamed star system. Climate: template. Inhabited: yes.** "

" _Template_?" Blue asked skeptically and gestured vaguely to their ice-covered surroundings. "Aren't you seeing _where_ we are?"

" **I'm getting to that, Kryvtor. Approximately 100 Earth years ago, Hoth was struck by a great asteroid, obliterating 60% of life on the planet. This event caused the temperature to drop dangerously, particularly by sending thick layers of dust into the atmosphere and thus blocking what little sunlight was received due to its distant position from the system's star.** "

"Okay then, what's messing up with technology?"

"And the Hothians? How can _their_ technology work?" Lena added quickly.

" **Permission to run a scan to find the cause.** "

"Granted."

GIR silently stood there for a few seconds with a seemingly-vacant expression. Suddenly his arm lifted and pointed toward the brightest spot in the cloud layer, which wasn't much. " **The Hothian sun is going through an unusually large and strong geomagnetic solar storm. The magnitude provokes electrical disruptions, blackouts and communication line damage*.** " The group let out dismayed groans. No wonder nothing (except GIR) worked! Even the _Massive_ experienced technical problems when it passed by a star going through solar storms.

" **The inhabitants of Hoth didn't previously possess the technology to leave their planet. Not long after the meteor struck Hoth's surface, however, the solar storm started messing with spacecraft passing through the system, causing them to crashland on Hoth's surface. The Hothians took whatever could be repaired to create their own vehicles, but they lacked the skills to successfully create one capable of space trave** l **. The crash-landed ships within that category were broken beyond repair.** "

"Technically, what you're saying is that they're stuck here because no ship they fix is big enough and they lack the proper equipment to leave the planet's atmosphere." Ilk concluded.

" **Affirmative**."

"But you didn't answer my question, GIR. If the solar storm causes the ships to malfunction, why do theirs work?" Lena pointed out.

GIR's vacant expression returned. This time he was staring down at the vortpad. " **This vortpad has been upgraded with a metal not found in the Empire's databases, but with properties that repel the solar storm's magnetic waves. Additionally, the battery is made from a substance with similar characteristics.** "

"Perhaps it's something native from this planet," Ilk pointed out. "It would explain why it's not in the Empire's databases. The Hothians could have discovered their effects and implemented them on the craft they repaired."

" **Sir, there's a signal coming from a building not far from here. It's monitoring the transmissions between other vortpads. Should I pick it up?** "

Monitoring transmissions? Was it possible the others had found a way to do that? "Pick it up." Red ordered.

The vortpad's screen turned momentarily static as GIR sent a call to the source of the signal. Seconds later a very familiar face appeared on the screen.

" _Red?!_ "

* * *

_Hothian Base, at the same time..._

There was a brief debate when suddenly their tablet received a remote transmission. Purple wanted to take the call in case it came from a ship, while Foxtrot thought it would be wiser to ignore it, it might as well be any of the other guards contacting the Hothian this pad belonged to. If they answered it they'd know they had stolen it. Finally Dib rolled his eyes and pressed the button to hail the transmission though.

Before they could reprimand him, Red's face appeared on the other side of the call.

"Red?!" Purple cried, bringing the screen closer to his face to make sure he wasn't hallucinating this. "Is that you?!"

" _Purple_?! _How on Irk did you get a vortpad?!"_

"Are the others with you?!" Foxtrot snatched the vortpad from Purple's hands to take a look. "Are Blue, Captain and _Hitorken_ Zim okay?!"

Red rolled his eyes. " _Of course you'd ask about Zim._ "

" _We are all safe and sound, sobrekt-beast!_ " Zim's voice yelled from the other side even though he was nowhere to be seen.

"Give that back!" Purple snatched the vortpad back with a frown. "Red, where are you?!"

" _In the middle of nowhere trying to reach you! How about you, are you still prisoners?_ "

"What makes you think that? The fact that we're inside the sobrekt ship being forced to repair it?" Dib asked sarcastically.

" _Don't you talk to Tallest Red like that, Dib-worm!_ "

"Hey, where is Captain?"

Blue momentarily pushed Red aside from the screen, looking uncomfortable. " _Captain is… venting off_." That was all Foxtrot needed to know. One of the Irkens must have upset him somehow, or a topic of conversation brought him… uncomfortable things back to mind.

Red pushed him aside again. " _Anyway, are you alright over there? What have you been doing?_ "

"Well-"

Bob cried out, "Guard is coming!" Purple quickly hid the vortpad under the couch pillows before laying down himself and putting down the best sick expression he could muster. When the Hothian climbed half the stairs enough to take a look into the lunge, Dib and Bob started whistling innocently; Foxtrot tried to do the same, but his long snout and inflexible lips prevented him from recreate that sound*. The guard shrugged and went back outside.

Bob took a peek through the stairs. "Coast clear."

" _Pur? Are you there?_ "

Dib snatched the vortpad from underneath the pillows before Purple or Foxtrot had a chance to sit up. "Now's not a good time to chat! How about we call you back in a few hours?" He barely missed getting the vortpad snatched from his hands.

" _Put Purple back on the screen, hyooman!_ "

" _Dad, he's right, we could get them caught if there are Hothians nearby."_

"Yeah, listen to her!" Dib added quickly after running underneath Foxtrot's legs. "You already got this vortpad's transmission number, so it won't be a problem, right?! Okay, talk later!"

" _Don't you dare-!_ " Those were the last words he heard from Red, along with his angry grimace, before cutting off the transmission. Okay, now he'd have to deal with a fuming Irken and kryvtor.

"I'm going to _murder you!"_ Purple was the first to lunge after Dib, but wasn't quick enough and landed straight on top of Foxtrot. The kryvtor snarled. "Get off me!"

"Before you kill me, _use your heads_! These guys returned _that_ ," Dib pointed at the incubator on top of the couch," because they believe _we_ think they have Zim and the rest! What do you think they'll do when they learn we discovered they don't really have your companions?" As the words sank in, he noted their body language relaxing (even though their brows were still furrowed). "Exactly. As long as they think they still have a leverage, those who are here will be safe."

"I hate to say it, my Tallest, but the Dib-hyooman is right." Bob pointed out timidly.

"Nobody asked your opinion, Bobby," Purple said bitterly. Seconds later he sighed in dismay. "But I guess the hyooman _is_ right in that sense."

"Of course I am!"

"Shut up and go record your 'evidence' or something."

Dib let out a dismayed grunt. "The camera ran out of battery."

Thank Irk for that, it was annoying every time the hyooman just popped out with that thing in his hand. Foxtrot shrugged and went to sit on the opposite couch, closing his eyes. Purple wondered how he could be so calm about this when their comrades were out in the wilderness at the mercy of… who knows what.

Purple noted the incubator, along with the indokuro egg, had been left on his side of the lounge. He warily glanced at Foxtrot, but the kryvtor didn't seem to mind he was so close to it. With that in mind he picked the incubator up and put it on his lap; Irk, it was heavy. Definitely it felt almost like it would hatch sometime. "Can I ask you something, Foxtrot?"

Foxtrot opened one eye in surprise. "Is it me or you just called me by my name?"

Putting the little comment aside, Purple inquired. "Why are you carrying an indokuro egg around?"

"Oh, that. Our main task was to retrieve the smeet you call Ilk, but every now and then we'd receive a secondary mission. The latest assignment was to recover a stolen indokuro egg." Foxtrot went on to explain how they had snuck into a black market auction aboard a space station just outside the Empire's borders to retrieve the egg, but had been informed about a 'chance' to capture Ilk. Captain had Masouri drive to the Armada without giving them time to return the egg to the I-KCADCOM facilities on Sobr.

"The what now?" Bob asked.

"It's _Indokuro Control and Distribution Committee_ in short."

Purple snorted. "Short? If that's your definition of short I don't want to imagine the 'long' one."

* * *

When they were taken back to their 'cell' that night there was a brief argument as to who got to hold the vortpad while they talked with their missing comrades until Dib volunteered for the job as a 'neutral' party. Surprisingly, Purple and Foxtrot didn't protest much.

To avoid overcrowding the latter drew an imaginary circle around himself, Dib and Purple. The others could sit, lie down or do as they wished as long as they didn't cross the line.

Dib re-dialed the same vortpad number from before. " _Pur, are you there?_ "

If there was something all those cat-mouse chases and ambushes from Zim had taught Dib, it was that Irkens were naturally _very_ impulsive and tended to overreact over tiny things. Thanks to this he was able to see it coming and jumped off his spot just as the other Invaders leapt at him for the tablet upon hearing their missing leader.

Purple and Foxtrot weren't so quick, unfortunately. Purple started yelling and snarling things at his soldiers while Foxtrot let out a series of high-pitched shrieks which Dib interpreted as insults.

"Foxtrot, watch your tongue! There's a hyooman hatchling present!" Masouri cried out, forgetting momentarily that Dib could not really understand their language.

" _What's going on over there?!_ "

"Let's say they're pretty desperate to know you're still in one piece… I think." Dib said.

" _Get Purple over here, hyooman!_ "

Okay, this is… embarrassing. "All of you, to the corner! NOW!" Purple bellowed, sending the other Irkens straight to the other side of the empty room, all of them trembling. Then he glared at Echo and Foxtrot. "You too!"

"Why us? We didn't scramble on top of you like animals-!" Echo protested, but a glare from Purple and a subtle motion with the head from Foxtrot silenced her. With a grunt she and dragged Masouri over to join the Invaders.

" _Okay, are you done acting like kids?_ " Captain asked from off-screen. " _Foxtrot, status_."

"Masouri is stalling the repairing as much as he can, Captain, but he can't do that too much or the Hothians will become suspicious."

"I could have told him that myself…" Masouri muttered from the back.

"How about you guys? Everything okay?"

" _Other than having to put up with Zim and his defective robot, yeah, we're good._ " Red muttered and glanced offscreen. Purple guessed he and Captain had walked aside from their campsite so they could talk without interruptions.

" _Thanks to_ Hitorken _Zim's robot you learned quite the information, didn't you?_ "

" _Yeah, and_ I _did all the work while you were off mopping for… something._ "

Foxtrot intervened when he noticed the two leaders were exchanging irritated glares. "What information did you gather, your Tallest? We have learned quite a bit ourselves."

The next twenty minutes were spent exchanging information on both parties, particularly the reason why technology didn't work, except for the Hothian equipment. Foxtrot slipped out the battery from Dib's camera; like the hyooman said, it had ran out. The greenish glow was gone and instead looked like a discarded piece of equipment.

Then there was the issue with the planet's atmosphere. This confirmed Red and Purple's suspicions of why the Sobrekt and Ilk had been so sick lately-Captain looked like he wanted to murder Red for withholding that information from him, but was wise enough to save it for later-, which meant their condition _would_ worsen if they stayed any longer in that place.

Foxtrot theorized that was the reason the Hothians were so desperate to leave their own homeworld; they too would perish in time.

"Hey, Masouri, how long would it take to coat _all_ of the _Ibris_ 's electrical equipment with the hothian metal?"

"If I work a whole day with every single hand available, about two days." Masouri glanced at the battery. "And if we could somehow obtain more of that, whatever it is, we could power up the engines."

Purple looked down at the screen. "Think you could get here in two days?"

" _If we go on interrupted, yeah._ "

"Good. Meanwhile, we'll try to fix the _Ibris_ without giving these guys a clue as to what we are doing." A small, red icon on the vortpad warned them the device was running out of juice. "We gotta hang up; running out of battery."

Captain nodded. " _Foxtrot, Masouri, Echo, take care until we get there._ "

Foxtrot saluted, and though they were not within sight Echo and Masouri mimicked the gesture.

"Take care, Red. And make sure Ilk and the doc make it here on one piece."

Red nodded. " _I will._ _Oh, and Pur?_ "

"Yes?"

" _Save me some doughnuts from that machine that materializes food out of thin air."_

Purple chuckled. "There will be a whole bag of doughnuts waiting for you and Ilk, don't worry."

The transmission was cut.

* * *

"Sir, we have the location of the other vortpad."

Iraa nodded and coughed into an old napkin. "Capture them alive and bring them here. Do _not_ kill them."

"Yes, sir!"

It was amusing to watch their 'guests' plotting behind their backs. They really thought they weren't being watched. Did they take them for fools? They might not be as gifted in engineering and machinery as other species, but they were cunning. He knew the prisoners would not talk as openly if they knew their captors were listening to every word. Iraa had learned this with previous prisoners.

Ironically a few decades ago he didn't even imagine there were other worlds until the apocalypse, when dozens of outer ships of differing sizes, designs and colors started falling from the sky. Sometimes there were survivors, sometimes there weren't. Those that made it died trying to leave their doomed planet.

His people used to simply watch until they started to die; soon they realized the air had been poisoned by the same substances that blocked the sunlight. Using whatever machine that didn't explode in the crash landing they manage to clean certain areas, but soon the realization came crashing down upon them: if they stayed they would die.

As mentioned before Hothians did not know enough of engineering to properly fix the bigger ships, so they tried to have whoever made it alive to fix them. They would provide the pilots with the _Othium_ and radioactive energizer, which allowed machines to function normally by repelling any interfering magnetic waves, in exchange of safe passage out of Hoth.

Those liars took advantage of their desperation to rob them of their resources and leave them behind. Iraa had watched it happen countless times until he decided they'd stop playing nice.

A few weeks ago, at least that was the impression he got, a mysterious message arrived in the form of a capsule with a written paper. It informed them a 'Sobrekt' ship in perfect conditions would arrive soon, courtesy of the unknown remittent. The Hothians could keep it and use it to escape their doomed homeworld. The 'benefactor' only asked for one thing in return:

Make sure the passengers aboard the Irken vessel that would arrive shortly after the Sobrekt did never made it off.

Iraa would make sure of that.

For the survival of his people he had to.

* * *

_The Campsite, meanwhile..._

"When in the Ancestor's name were you going to tell me?!"

"Captain, calm down!"

"CALM DOWN?! You do realize what could happen to us, Blue?!"

Red was certain the Sobrekt would have killed him if Zim hadn't intervened at that moment. "Sobrekt-beast, knock it off! Surely my Tallest had his reasons to withhold that information!"

For the first time ever since they landed, Captain _growled_ at Zim. "With all due respect, _Hitorken_ Zim, I don't think you understand the magnitude of the situation! You, the doctor and your Tallest have your _PAK_ s to filter out the air you breathe, but _we_ don't!"

Oh, that felt _so_ good! After seeing that croc licking Zim's boots ever since the crash it was nice to see him snap at least once.

"He does have a good point, dad! Why didn't you tell us about this?!" Oh, snap. He forgot Ilk was there.

"Sweetie, at the time I didn't think it was relevant…"

"You didn't…?!" Ilk groaned and smacked her own forehead. "Dad, seriously?! You thought the fact that the air here killing me wasn't relevant?! What were you planning to do when I got ill-?!"

"I assumed the… flower in your DNA would heal you or something."

"It doesn't work that way, Irken. The flower only heals flesh wounds and virus-transmitted diseases, not respiratory issues." Blue frowned.

"Have the guts to admit you were hoping Blue, _Fury_ and I would die from the poisoned atmosphere, _your Tallest_!" Captain snarled. The only thing that prevented him from attacking Red was _Fury_ standing between them while staring warily at the Sobrekt.

That had been his intention, alright, but he wasn't going to say it outloud, especially not in front of Ilk and Lena. Why did he care about what Lena thought of him, again?

The angry mood was broken when GIR came forward with a serving of waffles. "Who wants waffles?!" They would have declined, but they hadn't eaten anything since leaving their last campsite. Besides, Zim was eating one and didn't seem to grow sick so it seemed to be edible, not to mention they weren't in the mood for GIR's tantrums. They grabbed a waffle each, but Captain, Blue and _Fury_ moved a bit away from the Irkens to eat silently.

They felt betrayed. And they weren't completely wrong.

"Is it true, dad?" Ilk asked, looking up at her father with a deep frown. "You _did_ hope they would die of poisoning?"

Red glanced at Lena for help, but she merely kept eating silently. ' _Your idea, your consequences_.' That's what he imagined she was saying. In desperation he turned to Zim, his last hope. When did he stoop so low?

"Don't be so hard on Tallest Red, Ilk-smeet. Perhaps he didn't want you to worry."

Ilk's frown was now directed to Zim. "Really, you're on his side?" This really didn't surprise her, though, it wasn't like Zim had any other choice. Ilk glared at Red again. "You could have at least told _them_."

"Would it have changed anything?" Red responded a bit more firmly than before. "What would they have done even if I had told them? Hold their breaths until we escaped this planet?"

"They would have been _forewarned_ , dad! You say you don't like to be the last to find out about anything but you keep things from people!"

"Don't you talk to me in that tone, young lady!"

Ilk growled and flattened her antenna against her head. "You're doing it again! You just don't…! ARGH! Just forget it!" She turned on her heels and walked away from the fire, ignoring dad's protests.

"Ilk, were are you going?!"

"I need to be as faraway from you as possible for a few hours, if you don't mind!"

"Ilk, don't-!" Red winced at clutched his injured abdomen. Damn it. "Zim, go with her and take your… SIR with you!"

"As you wish, my Tallest!" Zim grabbed GIR by the antenna and dragged him after the young irkenette.

"That's not going to help, you now," Lena finally spoke. She stared at the spot the trio just disappeared into. "The last thing Ilk needs right now is a bodyguard that's always behind her back."

"Don't bring that up, Lena. Please, not now." Red said, glaring at the bonfire. It was just like he told her days ago, Ilk just didn't understand how important she was to him. The part of his brain, both his organic one and the _PAK_ , that felt guilty about lying to her responded that she didn't know because he didn't tell her. She'd understand better if he just told her of…

Red pushed those thoughts aside. It was for her own good.

But if that's the case why wouldn't the feeling go away?

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

"Big, bossy dummy!"

"Ilk-smeet, wait up!"

Ilk only stopped because after a long day of walking her legs were still hurting, and there was an fallen log nearby. The wooden cover was just as gray and sickly-looking as the rest, and now she knew why. She started coughing again, but it didn't last as long as before. With a grunt Ilk hopped unto the log and sat down, crossing her arms while glaring at nothing in particular. She just wanted to be mad at something.

"Are you sad?" GIR innocently asked and took out a rock from his head, offering it up to her. "Here! You can have my rock!"

She didn't have the the heart to hurt GIR's feelings by rejecting it, so she grabbed it. "Thanks, GIR." At the very least he tried.

"Your welcome. Oh, a mushroom!"

Zim went to sit down next to Ilk when GIR ran into some bushes to pluck odd-looking mushrooms. "You shouldn't be so hard on Tallest Red." he said.

"Zim, you don't get it, do you? He kept a secret from me _again_! It's always the same thing, he keeps treating me like a smeet!"

"Well, technically since you have yet to go to the Academy you're still a smeet by Irk's legal standards."

"That's not the point!"

"Tallest Red just wants what's best for you. It's what parental male units do in most species. You're lucky to have a parental unit at all, you know, it's a luxury not every Irken has…" Zim whispered with a small overtone of sadness. Ilk looked at him sympathetically; she had forgotten most of their people, Zim himself included, didn't have any parents but the 'cold, unfeeling robot arm' that shocked cloned smeets into life.

She wondered how her life would have been if she had been birthed in a smeeterie. She probably would have been one more soldier in the Empire and dad probably would have never learned he was a father at all.

There was a small rustling of leaves as Blue joined in. His orange eyes, displaying great tenderness, fixed on llk. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"More or less, how about you?"

Bue coughed once. "Other than feeling like my lungs are starting to hurt, I'm fine."

"I offer you apologies on behalf of Tallest Red, Blue-beast. He didn't have any bad intentions on withholding the… information," Zim said apologetically. "But your efficiency in combat and other things would have declined considerably if you had that in your mind bugging you constantly."

Blue sighed and went to sit down next to Zim. "I guess so… Captain sends his apologies for snapping at you earlier, _Hitorken_ Zim."

Zim shrugged. He partly understood why had had done it. "Zim forgives the Captain-beast."

"Blue, mind if I ask you something? For how long can Sobrekt hold grudges? Will you stay mad at dad for the remainder of our… stay here?"

"I can put that aside for the sake of survival. Captain, however, is another story altogether, especially when it has to do with your tallest Red."

"Does Captain have a grudge against dad or something? You make it sound as if he has a personal vendetta…"

"It's not a vendetta, but he does pin the blame on him for…" Blue stopped.

"For what?" Zim asked.

Oh, ancestors. If Captain found out about this, he'd be in so much trouble. "All I'll tell you is he lost someone dear to him to Drilo's disease."

No wonder he was angry at dad. He had stolen the only way to cure the illness, dooming whoever Captain had lost. One life for another. Ilk couldn't help but feel sorry for the crocodile. He wasn't just a bloodthirsty-barbarian like everybody said. None of these sobrekt were.

"GIR?" Zim looked around upon noticing his SIR had not yet come to bother them. "GIR, where are you?!" Zim groaned and left his seat next to Ilk, muttering something about a leash as he went deeper into the woods.

A part of Ilk didn't want to be left completely alone with Blue after learning he was… courting her. Sobrekt and their strange customs. If they don't give flowers or anything like that, what manners did they have regarding courtship other than bringing her lots of smaller prey to eat. Ilk sneezed and rubbed her forearms. Damn it, maybe it wasn't such to walk away from the fire with this climate.

Ilk jumped when she felt something wrap around her waist and looked down to find a long, reptilian tail getting a gentle hold of her. She fell backwards unto the snow with a yelp.

Okay, that wasn't the reaction he was expecting at all. Stupid, Blue, she's an Irken and has no idea of what this gesture means! Wrapping your tail around somebody's waist is a way to let someone know you're interested in them in a romantic way.. Or maybe she DID know what he was implying and didn't like it. He knew it, he should have waited a bit longer.

"I'm sorry, it wasn't my intention…!"

"It's okay, I'm fine, don't worry!" Ilk said hurriedly as she got ot her feet, subtly rejecting Blue's hand. "Just… don't do that out of nowhere, I thought it was a snake-like animal or something!"

Blue's crest was completely bristled in embarrassment. "Are you sure you are okay?"

Okay, she better deal with _this_ issue before he got any more illusions. "Look, Blue, don't take me wrong, you're a nice kryvtor and all that, but… I'm still a smeet and I'm not ready to think of relationships." Besides, if dad found out about this she thought him capable of declaring war against the Sobrekt. Again.

"You don't look _that_ young to me."

"Legally I am." oh, what a _good_ argument, Ilk.

Blue whipped his head around towards the trees with slit pupils. "Did you hear that?"

"Are you trying to avoid the topic?"

"Ilk, be quiet."

"No, we should settle this issue right here and right now!"

"Please, I need to listen-ARGH!"

"BLUE!" Ilk panicked when suddenly Blue hissed in pain and collapsed unto the snow, clutching his abdomen. She knelt down next to him and stared at his plasma-burnt hide.

" _Get them_!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Given that GIR is not... well, you know, normal, I think it's natural he wouldn't be affected like a fully-functional SIR would. Come on, he wouldn't be the GIR we know and love if he were, right?
> 
> *Events of 'Gir goes crazy and stuff'.
> 
> *This came from a suggestion made by InvaderJohnny, which also got me into researching it. I found about the Carrington Event, a powerful geomagnetic solar storm that occurred in 1859 and damaged to electric equipment worldwide, at that time mostly telegraph stations. Scientists said that a solar storm of that magnitude today would cause widespread electrical disruptions, blackouts and damage due to extended outages of the electrical grid. So I figured THAT could be the cause of equipment not working on Hoth. So thanks for that, IJ!
> 
> *From what I've seen in my pet snake, reptiles don't have flexible lips like humans do, so I think they wouldn't be able to do things like whistling.
> 
> Next chapter: Conflict arises between Red and Ilk after a long battle, while Lena deals with her first fight...


	13. Scars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I already said this, but things will be getting intense here, particularly between Red and Ilk. Oh, well, you'll see what I mean.
> 
> Enjoy!

_Meanwhile, at the_ _camp..._

When Blue went to make sure Ilk was okay he didn't protest. He might be mad at Tallest Red, but his smeet had nothing to do with the issue. He had a bad feeling when they didn't return soon, especially when _Fury_ lifted his head and stared at the forest. "What's up, boy?" Then they heard a shriek of pain coming straight from the trees, followed by a distress call from Ilk.

The irkens were instantly on their feet, though Tallest Red was still clutching his abdomen. "What was that?!"

 _Fury_ ran straight into the woods in the blink of an eye. "Looks like we've got company!" Captain snarled, picking up _Nekusarai_ from its resting spot. "I'll handle this, you two stay here!"

"I'm not going to sit by while my daughter is under attack!"

"You'd only get in the way, Irken, you can barely stand on your feet!"

"Red, he's right, you're still hurt…"

"I don't care, I'm going to save my smeet whether the lizard likes it or not!"

"Irken, get back here! IRKEN!" Captain snorted when his calls went unattended; Red had picked up the sword and ran straight into the woods. That idiot was going to get himself killed. Well, at least the doctor was more rational…. Nevermind, she darted into the forest with the twin sai. "I'm surrounded by idiots."

Meanwhile, Blue had barely managed to get back on his feet and carry Ilk to a safety line behind the trees just as a numerous team of Hothians ran out from between the trees, shooting at anything that moved, particularly him. It helped that Zim had sprung out of the trees on his _PAK_ -legs, forgetting about GIR for the time being, and deflected the plasma shots with his blade with surprising skill.

"Take Ilk-smeet to safety, Blue-beast!" Zim yelled and sliced through one of the soldiers like a bar of chilled buttermilk humans eat with their toast.

Blue did as told, almost running into _Fury_ when he stopped behind a thick treeline. The indokuro let out gentle purrs as he rubbed his head against Blue. "I'm okay, boy! Go help Zim!" _Fury_ snorted and went in the direction of the plasma shots and the yells, the latter coming undoubtedly from Zim.

Soon after Red and Lena caught up to them, the former panting heavily with cold sweat running down his face. Blue wondered how it was even possible for him to be moving at all in his condition. Guess parental love really _did_ have its perks, even for a race that had long given up in organic reproduction.

"Ilk, are you okay?!" Red asked, checking on his daughter for any possible injuries.

"I'm fine, dad! It's Blue who got hurt!"

"It's just a plasma burn, nothing serious." Blue assured her.

Red contained the urge to snap that he didn't care about what happened to _him_. The kryvtor was probably wary about him, considering what had transpired a while ago. "Take her back to the campsite while I deal with those bastards!"

"But dad-!" Ilk was about to protest only to be cut off.

"No buts, Ilk!"

"Red, wait!" Lena tried to stop him but was too slow to grab his arm; he was already gone. Men!

Ilk was too worried about Blue's injury to get mad at dad for treating her like a smeet yet again. "Lena, could you check up on Blue?"

"I'm not sure he will let me, Ilk."

Blue sighed. "Like I said, it's nothing serious, it'll heal on its own."

Right. She had forgotten the self-regeneration thing. At that moment Captain burst out from between the trees, but he did not stop to chat and instead ran past them towards the battlefield. Guess he really _was_ itching for an actual fight. "Are you going to join them too, Lena?"

Lena shook her head. "I'd rather stay out of the conflict."

Ilk recalled she was still in Blue's arms; the last thing she needed right now after what happened a while ago. "Um… Would you mind putting me down, Blue?" As soon as she was back on the ground she skipped over to Lena's side, rubbing her forearms. " _You_ will go back there, won't you?" She asked him.

To tell the truth it was more out of his people's lust for fighting than to actually save the Irken who was willing to have them die, but he wasn't going to tell her that. "Guess your… dad will need a hand…"

Blue noticed something else. "How about you? You'll go back to camp like he said?" Her crimson eyes flickered with a deep disappointment. "Or…?"

"Ilk, we should go back…" Lena said in a gentle manner, placing her hand on her shoulder.

"Or do you want to fight?"

"What are you saying? Red said-!"

"In case you haven't noticed he's not very good at making good decisions!"

Ilk pondered on Blue's question as they argued. _Do you want to fight_? Did she? She had been in the simulations, in which she excelled, and Blue had given her quite some lessons in the morning. She had the skills, but she had never been allowed to put them in practice before. Her eyes drifted towards the sound of the laser shots and the angry yells. Dad wouldn't be able to keep up for long in his condition, even with _Fury_ , Zim and Captain there.

And she was right. Three minutes after emerging into the battlefield and slicing through at least five soldiers Red _had_ to stop. The adrenaline had mitigated the pain on his side, but without his _PAK_ giving him painkillers and with the lack of sugars and fats in his diet the past few days, soon his body reached its limit.

"My Tallest, watch out!" Zim barely had time to jump in front of Red to deflect a plasma shot directed right at his chest. Just like before, he deflected the ammunition right back towards its source, sending the Hothian backwards and stunning him.

"Thank you, Zim…" Red groaned rather begrudgingly while clutching his injured abdomen. Mental note, wash his mouth thoroughly once they were back on the _Massive_. He _had_ to admit, though, Zim might be a terrible Invader, but he _had_ been a member of the Elite corps alongside him and Purple back on the day *****. Guess he had forgotten the little defective _did_ have his perks.

"Impressive, _Hitorken_ Zim!" Captain roared right as his blade sliced right through a Hothian's limbs, chopping them off, and finishing him off with a clean cut on the neck. The sight of the silvery blue blood pouring out of the body like water from a broken dam sent waves of adrenaline through his body.

It had the opposite effect on the Irkens, of course. Zim screamed when the dismembered head landed steps away from him. Red's eyes almost popped out of his head as he stared at it. "I'm going to throw up."

Captain laughed as a second head went rolling unto the snow. "Come on, Irken, it's not that bad! You're going to tell me you've never seen blood before?"

"I've never seen a _fucking_ head rolling right in front of me!" Red brought a hand to his lips when the bottom of his squeedly-spooch started squirming. One of the soldiers aimed his weapon at Red, but barely had time to react as _Fury_ 's jaws closed on his head and tore it off his body. This time the Tallest did throw up. What is it with Sobrekt and beheading?!

Zim yelled in anger. "GIR! Where are you when I need you?!" Almost on cue GIR came out of the woods with a big bunch of mushrooms. He waved his hand. "Hi, master!"

"GIR, aren't you seeing we are under attack?!"

"Attack? Is that a game?"

Red would have said something, but decided to let Zim handle his robot. He knew that piece of junk better than anyone, anyway. "Yes, GIR, is a game!" Zim yelled, dodging some blows from close-range soldier. "You have to knock down all the grey men to win!"

"And what's the prize?"

"Err...!" Zim panicked and slid out the vortpad from his _PAK_. "This flash game pad!"

Red whipped his head to look at Zim in disbelief. " _Have you lost your mind, Zim_?!" It was too late to take it back. GIR had burst into a yell of excitement and jumped to the head of the nearest Hothian to pull his hairs, unintentionally using the alien as a puppet to shoot at his comrades.

At that moment reinforcements-from both sides-arrived. Blue almost flew in the air as he proceeded to… Yes, you guessed, _decapitate_ whatever Hothian was in front of him. Trailing behind him was… Red swore he was having a squeedly-spooch stroke. "ILK?!" He watched as she ran out of the bushes with Masouri's sword.

Ilk sped over towards the nearest soldier, but unlike Blue's blows hers were non-fatal and she merely incapacitated the Hothians by slicing through their legs, rendering them immobile. Looks like that pre-Invader combat training wasn't a complete waste of time after all; it made her first blood-spilling more bearable.

"Red!" Lena made her way into the battlefield. She said she'd stay out of the conflict, but she couldn't just stand there while her Tallest was at his limit and utterly defenseless. Like she mentioned before, however, she was rather lacking in the 'field operation' department. Her movements to dodge the projectiles-either directed at her or randomly going in her direction-were clumsy and nervous, but somehow she managed to get to him unscathed. "Red, how are you feeling?!"

"Oh, I'm wonderfully! My daughter just disobeyed me and my abdomen is killing me, but I'm _fine_!"

"Putting the sarcasm aside, I told you you were in no condition to fight!"

"Save the sermon for later, Lena!" They whipped their heads around just in time to see a Hothian running towards them with a sharp knife aiming at Lena's stomach.

What happened next was a blur for Lena. For a brief moment she blocked out and wasn't aware of the following ten seconds. When she came back to her senses the Hothian's face was inches from hers with eyes widened in shock; a second later he collapsed unto the snow with a bleeding hole on his chest. Lena blinked slowly. Her antenna were flat against her head. She thought she heard Red talking in whispers, but she didn't quite understand what was going.

There was something in her hand. Looking down, she saw one of the dual sai in her tight grip with silver-blue blood dripping from its long, thin blade. Lena looked down at the body, then at her hand. It took her a few seconds to process what had just happened.

Red couldn't believe it. Lena had just made her _first_ kill ever if she really meant it when she said she had never taken a life before. In an apparent instinctive act of self-defense Lena had quickly grabbed one of the dual sai and driven it right into the Hothian's heart when he tried to stab her, but then she froze in place with a blank expression.

Just then the last of the soldiers fell with his head missing. When they made sure they were safe for the time being, Ilk ran towards her father and Lena to see if they were okay. "Dad?"

The reaction he had was not what she was expecting. "You are in _so_ much trouble, young lady." He hissed, frowning deeply.

Ilk blinked. "What? Why?"

"Why? You disobeyed a direct order and put yourself at risk!"

Flirking unbelievable. She just successfully survived her first battle and he was _mad_ about it?! "Are you serious?! I might have saved your life!"

"That's not the point, Ilk! I gave you a simple order: go back to the camp and let _me_ handle this!"

"Oh, yeah, You were handling it _really_ well."

Red flattened his antenna against his head and gave his smeet the most severe glare up to then. "You will _not_ talk to me again in that tone, Ilk. I'm not only your father, I'm your _Tallest_."

"Do you really have to bring _that_ up right now?"

Captain approached and coughed loudly. "I hate to interrupt your chatter, but…" He pointed at Lena, who had not moved nor reacted to the argument.

"Doc?" Zim tugged unto her skirt, but she didn't shift. _Fury_ purred and pushed her gently, but Lena didn't even flinch at the contact with the feared creature.

Okay, first he'd make sure she was okay. _Then_ he'd talk with Ilk about her insubordination. "Lena?" Red placed a hand on her shoulder. Nothing. He shook her slightly. "Lena!"

Captain and Blue had a good idea as to what was wrong with her. They had seen a few hatchlings react like this when they made their first kill. The former had the feeling this would be especially harder for her given that she was a medic; doctors took their 'ethical oaths' very seriously.

GIR ran up to Zim and pulled unto his shirt. "Did I win, master?"

* * *

_Minutes Later..._

Lena had not said a single word since they returned to the campsite. He was getting worried.

"She's in shock." Captain said.

"But why?"

"Think about it, smeet. She has never killed anything in her entire life* and then suddenly she realizes just stabbed a guy in the heart. She's going to have nightmares about it for weeks, at best."

"At best? And what would be a worst case scenario?"

"It doesn't help that some of us are covered in blood…" Blue looked down at his silverish-stained clothing.

Zim dipped his spoon in. "Hyoomans call it Poststtraumatic stress disorder. All she needs is to be exposed to the thing causing her the stress and face it."

"That's for phobias." GIR responded.

"YOU LIE!"

Red sat down next to Lena and waved a hand in front of her eyes. Nothing. "What should we do then?"

"For now we wait," Captain stated. "She should come out of it on her own, and when she does she'll most likely cry her eyes out." He wasn't really sure of how Lena would react, actually, since he didn't know her much other than the fact she was a doctor. It really varied depending on the individual's personality.

"I think we should give her a bit of space." Blue suggested. "Otherwise she might feel… overwhelmed."

"You go ahead, I'll make sure she's okay," Red said. He frowned at Ilk. "You and I still have a pending talk." Ilk didn't respond. She just followed Zim and GIR away from the campsite as Lena and Red were left alone.

Okay, now to figure out what to do. Captain said she'd snap out of it on her own, but what if she took too long? What if they ran into trouble again? She needed to come back to her senses, and soon.

Tentatively he wrapped an arm around Lena's shoulders and pulled her closer into an embrace. "Lena, can you hear me?" How silly, of course she could hear him. She just wasn't responsive. "Listen, you have nothing to worry about. I'm here with you." He spoke softly.

The whispering returned. Who was that, again? That voice was very familiar, where had she heard it before? Lena blinked once. That felt good, the snowflakes had gathered on her ocular orbs. The voice spoke again. Her antenna twitched in response to the sound. _Now_ she knew where she had heard it.

_Red…?_

Lena blinked a few more times as everything came back. She was back in the campsite (she didn't remember coming back here, though), right in front of the fire, but the others were missing. Where had they gone? What happened?

She heard Red ask. "Lena? Can you hear me now?" She could, but she didn't respond.

Her fist was still closed around something. Lena looked at said hand, noticing the bloody sai still in her grip. Wait a minute. Bloody…? Why was she holding a bloodied weapon…?

Then it came back. The battle, going to Red to make sure he was okay, the Hothian coming towards her with a knife threatening to stab her, her self-defense triggering and… Lena opened her eyes at the realization of what she had done. She had gone against everything she stood for. She had _killed_ … No. No, no, no!

Red panicked when tears started trickling down Lena's face. She took a hand to her mouth and broke into a sobbing fit. "Lena?"

"I killed him…! I killed him!" Lena chanted repeatedly. She wrapped her arms around herself in a sort of protective ball.

"Lena-!" He tried to get her attention, but she ignored him. Usually he would have snapped by then, but she wasn't just a common drone he could get mad at. Besides, he remembered Miyuki having a similar reaction back in their Elite days… Why did he bring Miyuki into this again? As Lena continued to sob and repeat how she had killed that Hothian, however, he realized he would _have_ to be firm.

He grabbed Lena by the shoulders and turned her to face him. "Lena, stop crying and listen to me! Stop making such a fuss over that man, would you?!" He shouted. She didn't respond, but her eyes went wider as they set on him, which let him know she was listening. "So what if you killed him?! _He_ would have killed _you_ if you hadn't done so, so don't feel sorry for the bastard!

"I know you are a doctor, Lena! I know you made an oath! And believe me, I _know_ killing is not a pleasant experience for some people, but sometimes there isn't another choice! Some people don't deserve to die, that's right, but there are others who should be wiped out from the face of the universe! This guy was of the latter group! So you have to get over this and move on!" That might sound a bit harsh, but it's the truth. He knew what he was talking about.

Lena merely stared at him in utter shock. Red initially thought she would argue back, snap at him, punch him or something, but she didn't. Instead she looked at the fire and rubbed her forearms. "How can you live with it…?"

"What?"

"You were a soldier. You still are even if you are not as active as before. You have killed thousands of people of different races and yet you are not bothered by it in the least. How do you do it…?"

Well, the PAK's emotion filter dealt with that issue, plus all those people he killed were of inferior species, so he didn't give it a damn about them, but that was not the answer Lena wanted to hear at the moment. And besides, despite usually feeling no remorse over deaths Red had to admit he still had some… demons. "It's not that simple. While it's true my hands are stained with alien blood and I don't care about it, there are a few cases that _do_ haunt me."

"Such as…?"

Red sighed and looked into the fire. "Three years ago. Two kryvtor assassins somehow got into the _Massive_. One of them went to Ilk's room to kidnap her while the other came after me and Purple," he still remembered how he looked like. Blue reminded him of that assassin in particular, except that one's eyes had been a toxic green and his face was covered in scars. "He gave a hard fight, but in the end we managed to defeat him; I landed the killing blow on him when he started making threats about Ilk..."

"Then the other one was brought before us. When he saw the other's body he broke down; he got free of the guards restraining him, but instead of attacking he… he went to the corpse, held it tightly and wept as if he were his most precious treasure. Then he glared at me and called me a murderer… and nearly attacked me until he was recaptured."

"Why does that case in particular bother you? You hate the Sobrekt."

"It's not about the species I killed. It's about _who_ I had killed," Red sighed again. "The kryvtor I had killed was his _son_. I had deprived a father of his child. That didn't use to bother me, but..." he glanced at the woods briefly. "...Ever since I got Ilk… I saw myself in that kryvtor… I saw what _could_ happen to me someday, what I would do if I lost her… Then I realized that if I had not done it, he would have gone after Ilk next. It's just like the issue with the flower: I might have doomed others, but I saved Ilk. That's all that matters."

"So yes, Lena. Killing somebody is not an easy task, and certainly not everybody has the cold blood to do it, but when you do, you have to understand it's either their life… or yours or that of somebody you love."

Lena placed a hand on his shoulder sympathetically. He was not as heartless as some people (all of them alien, no Irken would ever think such a thing of their Tallest)said, he did have his own fears and insecurities. She found the love he had for his smeet quite… endearing. Even if they were currently having some issues.

Red looked for something in his _PAK_. He might not be able to fully access to the compartments, but there was a particular space the virus had left untouched because it didn't have any weapons. It was a blue cinnamon roll from the batch Miyuki had made for him. These always cheered him up, and he certainly needed some of that right now.

Lena blinked. "Is that…?"

"Yes. Just don't tell Purple or he'll kill me." Red thought for a moment. To Lena's surprise he carefully tore the roll in two parts and held out one of the pieces to her. "Here."

Lena blinked. "R-Red, I could never…"

"I insist."

She could hardly believe this. Tallest Red was _sharing_ a _snack_ with her *****. Tallests _never_ shared their snacks with anyone, they were a very expensive luxury available only to the Irken leaders, or whoever had enough monies to afford them every now and then. And he was offering some of it to her! She couldn't just refuse it, it would be insulting for the Tallest.

Tentatively she grabbed the half of the cinnamon roll and gave it a small bite. Her antenna stood straight. "This is very good!"

Red just smiled as he enjoyed the treat alongside her.

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

"Zim?"

"What is it, captain-beast?"

"Is this… normal?"

"What do you mean?"

Captain pointed at Ilk, who was currently smashing yet another crudely-made snow version of Tallest Red. GIR was more than glad to help her vent off by making lots of mini snow-red heads while Ilk proceeded to hit, crush and smash them with a stick or her feet. All the while she yelled words in the Irken native tongue. The Sobrekt were glad not to understand what she was calling Tallest Red, the rather obvious object of her anger.

"Shouldn't we do something?" Blue asked.

"You should _never_ get in the crossfire when an Irken is venting off, Blue-beast." Zim pointed out matter-of-factly. He was aware that Ilk had Tallest Red's temper.

"At the very least could we… I don't know, ask her why she's in that state?" Blue inquired.

"Be my guest, Blue-beast, but Zim warned you."

Blue approached the fuming Irkenette warily, his talon claw tapping on the snow unconsciously. She certainly _was_ scary when angry. "Um, Ilk…?"

"WHAT?!" Ilk shouted at him.

He didn't step back in fear. Rather he blinked in surprise, his crest bristling in response. It was _very_ hard to actually frighten a Sobrekt, or 'take them by surprise' as they prefer to say. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"Of course I'm not! For the first time ever I actually battled and wiped the floor with _real_ opponents and dad gets _mad_?! What's his _flirking_ problem?! And he wants me to be an _Invader_?! It's always the same with him!" For emphasis she stepped on another snow-red's head with all the force her foot could muster. GIR wailed for a few seconds before shrugging it off and going to make another.

Captain gulped internally at the display. "Blue, perhaps we should give her some space…"

"Let her finish." GIR said. Oddly, his eyes had flashed red for a brief moment there before going back to his crafting.

"He insists to treat me as if I were a little smeet! I'm almost one Irk year old, for the Tallest's sake! I can take care of myself, I don't need him to send in a whole group of guards when I go to the flirking restroom! How does he expect me to be an stupid Invader if he won't even let me out of the _Massive_?! He expects me to learn everything from such an arrogant, self-serving idiot like _Larb_?!"

This angry rambling went on for about ten more minutes, letting out all the frustration that had been eating her on the inside for a long time. It turned out to be a good thing. By the time she got tired of shouting, she felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest.

GIR had lost interest in the snow-reds and started making a snow-zim instead. Zim joined him in part because he wanted the 'snow statue in his likeness' to look as close as the original as possible. Blue and Captain hadn't moved yet, but they were staring at her with slit pupils.

Ilk felt a hot breath snort her. This time she didn't jump in fright like before. She merely turned her head around. _Fury_ was staring down at her with his head tilting to the side. He made a purring-like noise.

"He's worried about you." Blue translated the body language.

"Oh, well… I feel better now that I got all of that out of my chest…" Ilk said a bit hesitantly. "Thank you for your… concern, though." This apparently wasn't enough for him, though. He lowered his head further and gently rubbed against her shoulder. Ilk did jump a bit backwards this time. "D-Don't do that…!"

"He's trying to comfort you, Ilk. Chill out, he will not hurt you if he's not ordered to."

"I know, but…" She couldn't explain it, but everytime she looked at _Fury_ something inside her brain made her freeze. It was a sort of deja-vu feeling, but that was impossible, she had never seen an Indokuro before _Fury._ At least that's what she thought, but then why did a part of her tell her that was not the case?

Thankfully _Fury_ 's attention shifted from her to GIR and Zim, who had switched the snowirken-making process to draw on the ground with sticks.

"I know it's not my business, smeet, but from all those things you just rambled about.. You don't want to be an 'Invader'?" Captain asked tentatively.

Ilk sighed. There was no point in denying it anymore. "I don't. I don't have the stone-cold heart to stab people in the back, and I don't like the idea of enslaving a species and destroying their home," she crossed her arms with a deep frown. "But _dad_ for some reason thinks otherwise and he put me in an impossible situation."

"Impossible situation?" Blue inquired.

"He convinced the Control Brains and now they're sending me to Devastis to become an Elite, and then an Invader. I have no way out of it. Not even dad or uncle Pur can help me, the Brains' decisions override even the Tallest's. I don't know what to do about it… My soul technically belongs to the Control Brains."

Captain and Blue exchanged a glance. They didn't know much about the Control Brains, nor Irken culture in general other than their conquest-driven habits and war tactics. They could figure out she really was in dead end if these 'Control Brains' were as powerful as she made them sound. "Have you tried to talk with them?"

"The only time I saw them was when they decreed my fate." Ilk said bitterly.

"How about your dad?"

"Didn't you hear? He doesn't understand, he's just hellbent on me doing what _he_ wants. And even if he weren't, I just said the Control Brains override even _him_."

Captain snorted. Typical of that Irken, one thing goes through one antennae and goes out through the other.

"He must have his… reasons to act the way he does," Blue said, looking in the direction of the campsite. "Don't be so hard on him. In the end, he just wants what's best for you even if he makes mistakes. Nobody's perfect, after all."

Ilk couldn't believe what she was hearing from Blue. "Why are you defending him? You were mad at him not long ago."

Blue simply shrugged. "Like I said, nobody's perfect."

"Especially him." Captain quickly added.

"Haha, victory for Zim!" Zim dropped his stick and lifted his arms up. The 'doodle' of himself he had made in the snow was indeed bigger and less childish than GIR's. The little robot looked down in disappointment. "Awww."

 _Fury_ stared at the two crudely-made drawings. Seconds later he went to a nearby tree, plucked a long thick branch and started drawing on the ground himself. A few turns here and there, some lines, circles and _voilá_!

Ilk had watched the whole thing in awe, especially when she realized he had drawn his own face. She never imagined the Indokuro would have a sense of self.

"It's better than the last one, _Fury_." Blue complimented.

Even Zim joined in. "Not bad for a sobrekt-beast." He said in a superior tone, much to Blue's delight. He inadvertently stepped on one of the lines in _Fury_ 's drawing, earning a snarl. Zim quickly stepped back, lifting up his hands defensively.

Ilk was certain he meant something like ' _don't step on my drawing, I didn't step on yours!_ ' Tentatively she made a gesture of placing her foot on one of the lines. _Fury_ turned his head sharply towards her, growling at her. " _Fury_." Blue warned. Ilk removed her foot and _Fury_ went back to his curious expression. Interesting.

Ilk started moving through the 'piece of art' while making sure not to step on any lines. She did not notice she had inadvertently ended up right in front of _Fury_ until she felt his hot breath yet again on her back. Turning around she found his snout inches away from her, his piercing golden eyes looking down at her with great curiosity. This was so unlike the shadow that haunted her dreams sometimes. Unlike the monster she met a few days ago.

"Hold out your hand and turn your head away." She heard Blue say.

"What?"

"Trust me."

"Chill out, smeet. Blue told you before, _Fury_ won't hurt you unless he's ordered to or you give him a reason to do so." Captain chuckled.

Ilk doubted for a few moments, but eventually she did as told. She stretched out her arm and held out her hand while averting her gaze. _Fury_ 's breath caressed her gloved hand. He was probably investigating her smell. Ilk shivered when she felt a mild touch pressing against her palm seconds later.

 _Fury_ had pressed his nose against it.

"What just happened?" GIR asked out of genuine curiosity.

"You could say _Fury_ just accepted her as a friend." Blue smiled lightly at the scene.

Friend…? Ilk looked up at _Fury_ as he opened his eyes. With one last purring sound he went back to Blue's side. She couldn't help but smile a bit. Perhaps Blue wasn't so bad after all.

Zim glanced at Captain and Blue warily and whispered to GIR. "Are you recording this?"

GIR merely saluted with a goofy smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *It's been mentioned that Zim is more than capable of conquering Earth, but doesn't know where to put his focus and gets distracted by unimportant threats, plus his own arrogance often gets in the way. Besides, we shouldn't forget he was an Irken Elite at some point in his life, and he must have been a really good soldier to have achieved that rank. My headcannon is that he is a very seasoned warrior when he properly focuses.
> 
> *I know Irkens are all soldiers and bred for war, but I think there might be a few jobs in which they don't get to kill on a daily basis, such as medics. Lena, in particular, never got the chance to participate in battle because she worked in Irk, so she has never killed anything. Plus, she is very serious about her job's ethic.
> 
> *The Tallest would, obviously, never share their precious snacks with anyone, so when they actually do it means the person in question is very important to them. Any hints?
> 
> I know, yet another reference to HTTYD, but as I've mentioned before I think Fury's personality is similar to Toothless.
> 
> Next chapter: Tensions within the group threaten to tear it apart, especially after an encounter with yet another nasty creature.


	14. Cold Water

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted this chapter two days earlier because I'll be traveling to Chicago tomorrow, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to with all the moving around. There's going to be snow there! BRRR!
> 
> Anyway, merry christmas and happy new year, everyone!

The next day there was still some… tension between the group. Ilk and Red hadn't yet gotten a chance to have their 'talk', and their interactions were curt and didn't last more than a few seconds, mostly on Ilk's part. Red couldn't help but feel hurt by the indifference, but he did not show it. He had to be firm.

He noticed Ilk was spending more time with the Sobrekt, particularly with Blue and his 'pet'. Most of the time they chatted and she'd pet _Fury_ more often. He didn't like it. In more than one occasion he felt like pulling her away, but he was already threading on a thin line with Ilk; she'd want to learn _why_. So for now he just watched warily.

Captain had not spoken to him yet, nor had he spared a glance. Yup, he was still mad at him. Come on, it's not like _he_ wouldn't have withheld such information had the roles been reversed, right?

The party left the campsite at dawn… At least he thought it was dawn, it wasn't too dark and there was a gentle yellow in between the thick clouds. Ilk had to ask GIR if he could lend them 'his' flashy screen to see where they were going. He didn't make a fuss out of it, thankfully, he gladly lent her the vortpad.

Okay, Masouri had said it would take him about two days, more or less, to fix the _Ibris_ and adapt it to the Hothian metal, so they had no time to waste. The Hothian base was not very far from their current position, if everything went smoothly they should arrive by the next day.

After days of walking through sickly trees within dying forests the group was glad to emerge into a wide, extended open field a few hours later. _Fury_ stopped in his tracks, however.

"What's up?" Ilk glanced up to him. _Fury_ was staring intently into the ground with his spines bristled.

"He's an animal, Ilk, he can't answer. Come on, let's go." Red was about to step forward, but a large scaly hand grabbed him by the arm. His Irken pride flared up and glared daggers at Captain. "Get your filthy alien hands off me!" He snarled, tearing his arm off the Sobrekt's grip.

"You're going to step on thin ice, Irken." Captain said simply, pointing at the ground.

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed. This is not a field, it's a frozen lake," Blue said. "We should go around it."

"No way, it will take too long, let's just cross it."

Captain frowned. "Are you deaf? It's a bloody lake! If you step on the wrong place you'll break the ice and turn into a popsicle! Not to mention you don't know what's lurking under the ice."

"Do you have any idea of how long it will take us to go around the whole lake?! In case you forgot we only have two days. Besides, whatever used to live here has probably died of starvation or something else."

"You _can't_ know that. We don't know how these creatures have evolved."

"Of course _you_ would worry about _that_."

"The thing _you_ should worry about, Irken, is to actually make it to the ship in one piece!"

Red hissed and flattened his antenna at Captain. "I've had enough with you-!"

"DAD!" Ilk stepped in between the two before another argument could break out. "Now's now the time for that!"

To her shock her merely pushed her aside. "Let me handle this, Ilk!"

"What?! But-!"

" _Quiet_."

He had never spoken to her like this. Ilk just stared up at her father in utter disbelief, but the stern look he was giving her sent a shiver down her spine. Reluctantly she stepped aside, glaring at her father with contempt.

Captain crossed his arms. "What were you going to say, Irken?"

"I _don't_ have to listen to you when this whole situation is _your_ fault! We wouldn't be here if you hadn't taken my daughter to begin with!"

Again with that. "I'd respond, but frankly it's like talking to a wall."

Red clenched his fists. "Do not provoke me, snake."

Captain's pupils turned into slits. "What did you just call me?"

He had struck a nerve. Good. " _Snake_." He relished in the look on Captain's face, ignoring Lena and Zim's gestures to stop. "A filthy, scaly, slimy-little _snake_."

It happened so fast nobody saw it coming. Captain's fist came into contact with Red's face, sending him straight to the ground. Blue cried out in shock, but made no move to touch Captain. Lena, Ilk and Zim panicked, immediately going to Red's side to make sure he was still in once piece. Red felt the metallic taste of his own blood in his mouth and a terrible soreness on the right side of his face.

Captain glared down at the Irken, his teeth bared, his spines bristled and his fists clenched, particularly the one he had just punched him with. The word _snake_ was the worst insult one could say to a Sobrekt or a kryvtor, and usually was only reserved to the traitors, the weak or the cowards. Those who weren't either of those didn't take it kindly if they were called as such, especially if it came from a non-sobrekt.

He had _enough_.

"Fine," Captain said after taking a deep breath to calm himself down. "You want to cross? Be my guest, I will not stop you." With that he turned around and started walking away.

"Where are you going, sobrekt-beast?" Zim inquired.

"Forgive me, Hitorken Zim, but I cannot keep working with… _him_. From this point on, you're on your own."

Blue looked at him as if he had lost his mind. "Captain?!"

"Who's the one who walks away like a whipped dog now, _Captain_?" Red spat his name tauntingly.

"Red!" Lena chided him, glancing at Captain nervously. The last thing they needed was to separate, especially after what happened with the Hothians, "I thought you were supposed to make sure Ilk was taken to Sobr in one piece!" She cried in desperation. Captain stopped in his tracks, and for one moment Lena hoped he would stay.

Captain merely snorted. "Blue, you and _Fury_ stay with the Irkens."

"What?! Captain, I-!"

"That's an _order_ , Blue. I'll be fine. Make sure _Hitorken_ Zim and the smeet will make it in one piece." Those were the last words Captain said before leaving the group behind as he walked along the edge of the lake.

Good! Who needs him, anyway? He just couldn't wait to see his face when they arrived to the other side way sooner! The satisfaction only lasted for a few seconds when he realized there were four pairs of eyes glaring at him. "What?"

"Seriously?" Blue bristled his crest. His pupils had turned into two thin slits. "Did you _really_ have to pull that stupid stunt _now_? Couldn't you have waited till we got off this fucking planet?!"

"He started it!"

Lena simply could _not_ believe it. "Red, are you serious?"

" **Cease this at once!** " All eyes turned to GIR. His duty mode had activated again. " **With all due respect, My Tallest, the kryvtor and doctor Lena are right. The priority right now should be to regroup with our captive allies instead of bickering amongst each other for petty things.** "

"Now even _you_ are on their side?!" Red scoffed.

However, GIR had already gone back to his regular mode and looked up in confusion. "Me what now?" GIR said, scratching his head.

"Well, if we're going to cross through here do you at least know how to move on top of the ice without breaking it?"

"Who do you take me for, kryvtor? I was a member of the Irken Elite! I _would_ if someone hadn't put a virus on my _PAK_!"

Blue saw through the sugarcoating. He smacked his own forehead, muttering under his breath. How _smart_ of Red, really, chasing away the one person who had the most experience in walking over ice. Oh, well, they'd have to find a way; Captain would _not_ return until Red admitted he was wrong, which Blue was certain would _never_ happen. "Fine, then. Let's do this: I'll go up ahead and point the places where it's safe to step on. Then you follow _exactly_ the same path I mark."

Red shrugged. "Finally an actually _good_ idea."

Ilk guessed he liked the idea of Blue being the one who raked over the coals… or rather, stepped on a thin sheet of ice, literally in this case. Blue gave a few more instructions: move _very_ slowly and distribute their body weight as much as possible, keep at least 30 feet of distance between each other to avoid dragging others down should the ice break, and overall _avoid_ stepping on a crack no matter what.

Blue was the first to go. He'd take a tentative step forward, tap the ice around him with his claw to check how thick it was, and go forward where the ice was safe to step on. He was followed in order by Zim, GIR(who by some miracle was acting serious for once), Red, Ilk, Lena and _Fury_. The latter was crawling with his body close to the ground.

Blue stopped when they were about halfway through the lake. He ignored Red's protests and looked around. He took another tentative step, but stopped again.

"Get moving up ahead!"

"Is something wrong, Blue?"

"Why did we stop, Blue-beast?"

"Ohh, snowflakes!"

Was it his imagination or something was moving underneath the frozen surface? Despite the mild layer of snow he thought he saw a darker shape silently slithering below. Blue felt a shiver down his spine, evident by how his crest unconsciously bristled. That was all Ilk needed to see to realize something _was_ wrong.

And she wasn't the only one. Behind Lena, _Fury_ lifted his head and looked around with a cautious expression. Much like Blue he was tapping his talon claw on the ice. "Blue?"

"Be quiet, all of you."

Red was going to protest when Ilk tugged on his armor and pointed down just as the black shape came to a halt right under him. It was very long and thick. Whatever it was it was _big_. It continued to swim underneath the group for a few minutes. Red was pretty certain that any sound, no matter how small, would give away their location.

"MASTER, I GOT YOU A SNOWFLAKE!"

All heads turned abruptly to the SIR unit holding a bunch of snow in his hands up to Zim. The dismayed Invader did not yell or scream his annoyance, instead he mouthed GIR's name and clamped his hands over his mouth, looking at the long blurry shape.

It was gone. "Where did it go?" Lena whispered.

Blue lifted his hand, signaling her to be quiet, and listened. At first there was nothing, until he heard something moving through water at top speed. "We have to move, NOW!"

At that moment a long tentacle-like limb pierced through the eyes on the spot where _Fury_ had been standing on moments ago. Wariness be damned, they had to get to shore! Red grabbed Ilk by the arm and dragged her behind him before a tentacle broke through the ice, barely missing her leg. "Stay behind me, Ilk!"

 _It's not like I have a choice since you're dragging me_. That's what Ilk would have said if they were not being hunted by a mutant fish of some sorts. She glanced back to make sure Lena and _Fury_ were still behind them. The former was having trouble to keep up without slipping. Ilk thought she saw _Fury_ pushing Lena back into balance once. Because of this one of the tentacles managed to latch unto his tail, but a slice from his claws was enough to get rid of it.

They heard a sort of shriek coming from the creature, courtesy of one of its tentacles having been sliced off by _Fury_. It went completely nuts, either from the pain, the anger or both combined. It repeatedly banged against the ice, creating large blue cracks running through the area and in turn causing the party to lose their footing completely. The lake, which looked like a treeless plain a mere minutes ago, became overrun with crevices as the frozen sheet above the water fractured and the ice 'platforms' resulting from this began to separate and drift apart, further exposing the dark waters below.

Blue barely managed to pull Zim and GIR into safety just as the ice broke beneath them, creating a large gap of ice-cold water between them the other pieces. _Fury_ pulled Lena into the center of their own before she could fall in. She was so terrified she clung to the indokuro's neck. Red had instinctively pulled Ilk into his arms as he slipped; his side stung again at the sudden abrupt motion plus the landing on the hard ground.

"Dad, are you okay?!"

Red nodded. The grit teeth and the way he was clutching his wound said otherwise, however. "It will pass…!"

"What is going on?!" Lena cried. She was still holding for dear balance unto _Fury_ 's neck.

GIR pointed at the creature. "SHARKTOPUS *****!" He yelled(it was hard to tell if in fright or excitement) when a sharp dorsal fin cut through the surface.

"What?!"

"Its a dumb creature from a stupid earthen movie, Blue-beast!" Zim growled. "GIR, this isn't Earth! You can't possibly think there's a fictional earth-beast in a planet that is light years away-!" Zim's annoyance turned to horror when the creature, who looked like a mixture between a shark with octopus tentacles instead of a tail, leapt right above them and disappear into the water. He screamed 'sharktopus' and clung to Blue's waist.

It was then that they noticed the sharktopus wasn't randomly swimming around waiting to see who was the first to fall. It was circling around the platform Red and Ilk were on top of. GIR laughed. "Ohh, I think he likes your color, Ilky!"

"What?!" Was the nervous reply as she watched the fin move around them slowly. If it weren't for the climate she'd compare it to the movie about the man-eating fish set loose in a vacationing location.

"Sharks like red! Every time they see it they get excited and try to eat it! It's like a eating-red party for sharks!" GIR explained happily.

Blue thought he must be talking about a feeding frenzy. Predators always went into one when there was too much food to spare, back in the day Sobrekt themselves sometimes went into those if they hunted a particularly large prey that could last for weeks.

The fish rammed against the platform in an attempt to throw his prey into the water. Red barely managed to get a good hold on the edge with one hand while holding Ilk by the arm on the other.

"My Tallest, whatever happens do _not_ fall into the water!" Zim cried in dismay. "Your wounded and the blood will probably send the sharktopus into a frenzy!"

"Oh, don't tell me!" Red shouted. He already knew that, Zim had sent a shark(a normal one) alongside other aquatic earth-creatures to the _Massive_ once *****. It took them two hours to throw them out of the airlock, especially the aggressive fish called 'shark'. One of the soldiers got a cut and the beast ripped him apart.

It was easier said than done considering the sharktopus continued to bang against the platform. Once it realized that tactic wouldn't work it sent its tentacles out of the water and tried to directly flip the platform.

" _Fury, get them_!"

Before Red, Ilk or even Lena knew what was going on Blue shouted the indokuro's name. In response _Fury_ quickly pulled Lena into his back, leapt unto the shifting ice and quickly did the same with Ilk and Red. Then he jumped towards Blue just as the platform was overturned by the tentacles.

The Irks had different reactions to riding an indokuro for the first time in their lives: Lena swore she was going to have a heart stroke, Red imagined lots of Irken soldiers wiping out their enemies faster if they could create similar creatures, and Ilk enjoyed it despite the dangerous circumstances.

Zim made it look easy, but then again _Fury_ had only been walking the times he rode.

GIR clapped his hands happily. "Rodeo! I want to go too!"

"Talk, later, here it comes!" Zim pointed to the water. The sharktopus had noticed the escape and sped up towards them like a torpedo.

Blue glanced at the shore. It wasn't very far, only a few more meters. "Hurry up!" With no time to lose he flung Zim and GIR unto his back and flew as fast as he could towards the shore without slipping.

 _Fury_ , however, had a hard time to keep up with three Irkens on his back, especially since the sharktopus's dorsal fin cut through the icy surface like a bar of soap, allowing it to soon catch up. Eventually one of its tentacles was fast enough to grab unto his leg, causing him to trip and drop his passengers unceremoniously.

That was the last of his concerns at that moment, though. The rest of the tentacles emerged and grabbed various parts of his body as the sharktopus tried to drag him into the water. _Fury_ shrieked and dug his claws unto the ice desperately.

" _FURY!"_ Blue abruptly turned around and rushed back to his Indokuro to start cutting the limb around _Fury'_ s neck. Zim and GIR joined in, though the latter was actually biting unto the tentacles as if they were made of sushi.

Red grabbed unto Ilk's arm firmly when she tried to go help them. "Ilk, what do you think you're doing?!"

"I have to help! _Fury_ is in trouble!"

"It's too dangerous, that thing could grab you instead of him! Didnt you hear about the red color?!"

" _He just saved us, dad!_ " Ilk freed herself from his grip and ran towards the trapped Indokuro.

"ILK!" Red grit his teeth when his wound started to hurt again. Adding insult to injury Lena had also rushed to the indokuro's aid, leaving him alone. Was he the only sensate Irken around or what?!

Then suddenly the few tentacles that remained, and the dorsal fin, disappeared underwater as quickly as they had arrived. _Fury_ stepped away from the edge and shook the slimy water off his scales while the rest checked up on him. Blue and Zim even hugged him once they saw he was not hurt.

Red merely grunted, crossing his arms. Just wonderful, now even his own daughter and Lena were more worried about a stupid hybrekt than him. A part of him, however, chastised him for thinking like this. _Fury_ had saved his life and that of Ilk's.

Something was off, though. Why did the sharktopus just release _Fury_ when he was inches away from pulling him down? Did it want to keep whatever limbs hadn't been cut off? Did it lose interest? It made no sense. The animal was probably starving, it wouldn't give up such a meal out of nowhere…Unless…

A shiver ran down his spine as he realized he was meters away from the others, exposed and with an injury that hindered his combat skills. He looked down in time to see the creature appear from the darkness and swim upwards.

Red barely had time to jump out of the way just as the sharktopus's head burst through the ice, baring its teeth in an angry snarl. One of the tentacles wrapped around his left leg and pulled him into the water as the sharktopus retreated. The last thing Red saw before being completely submerged was Ilk screaming and running towards him.

The cold water was _not_ a good sensation. His whole body felt numb and at the same time it was like a hundred tiny knives had stabbed it. As the light of the surface started to diminish, Red realized what had happened: the sharktopus had _never_ intended to drag _Fury_ down, it was a trick to get one of them completely alone.

And since he hadn't gone to help _Fury,_ but stayed in his spot instead…

Red would have chastised himself for falling for such an old trick, but first he'd have to get out of this alive. He was running out of air, and try as he might he couldn't have his _PAK_ activate his air bubble helmet. Stupid sobrekt virus!

For the first time he could look at the creature face to face. Just like GIR had said, this animal looked like a large version of a shark-thing with flowing tentacles instead of a tail. It's dark eyes were staring at him hungrily. That's when he noticed a strange green substance floating upwards. His injury was bleeding again.

Red tried to grab the sword tied to his waist, but the sharktopus got ahead of him and wrapped the rest of his tentacles around his body, rendering him completely immobile. Red struggled to stay conscious and fight to get free, but he only had a little bit if air.

Just as he started to see black holes into his vision, he thought he saw a large, dark green shape ram into the screaming sharktopus and lots of blood coming out of the animal's side. What was going on…? Who was that? When his mysterious savior started to tear the tentacles holding him apart, Red managed to take a clear glimpse of it.

_..Captain?_

* * *

Captain was aware of his limited patience, but for the sake of both the mission and convivence he did his best to put up with Red's 'I'm superior' nonsense for as long as he could. But _this_ was the last drop. The irken could drown in the fucking lake for all he cared.

Yet he couldn't bring himself to allow that to happen when, indeed, it _happened_.

Despite the distance he heard _Fury's_ cry for help, which drew him to the shore where he spotted him bound in tentacles while everybody, minus the red irken, was trying to cut him free. When the tentacles left _Fury_ and targeted Red instead Captain was momentarily torn between saving him and self-preservation.

In the end the former won.

So when Red disappeared under the icy waters Captain dove in after him. It was as cold as he imagined, even more than that. He had to hurry. The freezing temperature of the water could send him into aestivation mode automatically, leaving him vulnerable.

Crocodilian Sobrekt had two advantages over their kryvtor subspecies: the first was that they were swift and deadly in the water. Despite being more land bound than their ancestors they still practice the art of aquatic-combat. Those who were intelligent enough to study the Sobrekt beforehand knew they should never face them in the water. The second was their bite force; Sobrekt warriors were known to tear limbs with their bare jaws, some could even chew their way through certain metals.

These two factors helped Captain dive down and ram against the creature-later he'd learn it was called sharktopus-, closing its jaws on its gills. The sharktopus gave a silent scream of pain. The water turned an even blacker hue as the blood poured out. If there was something Captain had learned in the Aquatic Combat classes in the Academy was that all water-dwellers shared the same weakness: their gills.

With the sharktopus agonizing Captain swam over to the tentacles holding Red and tore them off to free him. The Irken seemed to be running very low on oxygen without his _PAK_ to aid him. Captain was pretty sure he would hate himself in the morning for what he was going to do, but it wouldn't look nice if he allowed one of the Irken leaders to die.

He closed his jaws on Red's head in a non-fatal way.

Despite the lack of oxygen affecting him, Red was conscious enough to panic when he found his head inside Captain's mouth. Before he could try to get free, he noticed the water was descending quickly. Red took a big mouthful of precious air. It took him a few seconds to realize what was going on.

Captain had created an air pocket of some sorts within his mandibles.

He would have marveled at his head still attached to his body being inside a Sobrekt's mouth, but the sensation of the cold water on the rest of his body reminded him now was not the time. He took a deep breath and announced Captain he could open his jaws with a pat on the snout.

Damn it, the Irken took too long! Captain opened his mouth and released Red's head. His cheeks were slightly swollen, meaning he had taken quite a lot of air. Captain motioned Red to hold unto him and swam towards the surface as quickly as possible when he felt his thin arms around his necks.

Despite Captain pushing himself to the limit he get his body entering the _amok_ state as his movements became stiff and the numbness intensified. The surface was a few more meters away, but he had no time to look for an opening.

Red realized what Captain was going to do. Oh, Irk, this was going to _hurt_.

* * *

The cold he felt underwater couldn't hold a candle to the cold he felt when Captain burst through the ice, exposing them both to the freezing wind and hypothermic atmosphere.

Thanks to the inertia caused by the speed, the Sobrekt reached a considerable height as they technically flew out of the water and landed on blessed hard ground. Captain growled in pain and snorted. "Damn it…" he whispered.

Red didn't mind him for now: he started coughing whatever water got into his lungs and taking deep breaths in between to replenish the lost air. Oh, precious oxygen! He looked back at his _PAK._ It was still in one piece, thank Irk.

Okay, now that he was sure he was in one piece. "So you didn't really mean to leave, did you?"

There was no reply.

"Captain?" Red turned towards him. He had not moved, and his breathing was very slow. Not only that, his expression was groggy and his eyes vacant. "Captain?!" He started shaking him to make him react, but it was to no avail. "Don't you dare die on me, overgrown lizard!" Not even the insult got through him. Damn it…!

"DAD!" Soon after he felt a pair of arms wrap around him tightly and a face burying into his chest.

"Red, are you okay?!"

"My Tallest, you're alive! I told you he'd make it!"

"No, you didn't."

"Silence!"

He would have returned the hug and assured Ilk he was okay, he would have told Lena he was fine and tell Zim to shut up, but all his concerns were on the unconscious-NOT moribund-Sobrekt.

Blue seemed to have similar thoughts. He kneeled down to check on Captain's temperature. His face said it all. "What happened?!" He asked sharply.

"He dove into the water and saved my life, isn't that obvious?!" Red snapped unintentionally. It wasn't that he cared about Captain, he simply had a life debt to repay, that was all. "What's wrong with him?!"

"He's gone into _amok_!"

"Into _what_?"

Blue groaned. "He's too cold, his body went into hibernation! At this state he'll die of hypothermia if we don't warm him up quickly!"

He should have thought of it. Sobrekt were cold-blooded after all, they couldn't regulate their body temperature if not by external means. That would explain why they ate too much and tried to conserve energy: the climate probably made their bodies consume whatever calories they had on a faster rate.

"We have to take him to a cave or somewhere with no wind!"

"Leave it to me," Red got on his feet and looked down at Zim. "Which way do you suggest, Zim?"

The invader's eyes lit up and he pointed to a random direction. "I believe that's the best way to go, My Tallest!"

"Okay." Red pointed to the opposite direction. "We'll go that way then." Don't question it, he _knew_ what he was doing. Zim's decisions always led to disaster, so the smart course of action is to do the opposite of what he thinks.

To everyone's surprise Red turned out to be right. Twenty minutes after walking in the direction he had said (despite being against Zim's suggestion) they arrived to a unoccupied cave. Of course, Zim then pointed out it was thanks to _his_ suggestion they found it. Nobody argued it.

The Irkens left to look for wood while Blue and _Fury_ stayed behind to look after Captain. The latter was exhausted from the ordeal with the sharktopus, plus now having had to carry Captain's hibernating form here. Red stayed behind too, in his case because he was pretty hypothermic already and Lena had him sit against the wall wrapped in whatever furry blankets they had except the largest. That one was reserved for Captain.

Blue removed Captain's armor, exposing his bare, barely scarred torso and covered him with the homemade duvet.

"Won't he mind being naked when he wakes up?" Red asked. There was no sarcasm or mocking in his voice.

"We don't have any 'parts' to hide, so usually we don't mind it." Blue said matter-of-factly. Their reproductive organs were internal in both genders, so they lacked the taboo mentality regarding having your body exposed.

Soon after Lena, Ilk, Zim and GIR returned, the three former carrying lots of whatever dry wood they could find while GIR brought a tiny ferret-like animal. They worked together to start about five small bonfires around Captain. Close enough so he'd receive the heat, but not enough to risk the covertor catching fire.

"What now?" Zim asked. Blue could tell he was somewhat concerned. Captain _had_ saved his Tallest, after all.

"We wait."

"For how long?" Red perked up his antenna.

"If all goes well he should wake up tonight."

"And if it doesn't go well?" Lena inquired.

He didn't want to think of _that_ possibility. Instead he suggested they take a break meanwhile; he correctly guessed they were all exhausted after what happened at the lake.

Blue offered to go hunt something, seeing as _Fury_ didn't have the energy to do so. Ilk offered to accompany him just in case he needed a hand, much to his delight. They finally get to spend some time alone.

Red didn't get to witness this. He was so tired himself he had fallen asleep a few minutes ago.

* * *

After a few hours out in the forest they couldn't find anything big enough to feed the whole group, particularly Captain when he awoke. He'd need even more energy. In the end Blue suggested going to the lake and see if the sharktopus's carcass had floated to the surface. With no other option they returned to the lake, and five minutes later they were carrying about five pounds of sharktopus meat.

"What do you think it tastes like?" Ilk asked when they were a few meters away from the entrance cave. She needed a short break, this thing was heavy.

Blue placed his bag down for the time being. "I'd be lying if I told you. I've never eaten fish of any kind."

"No way."

"What can I say? Kryvtors are not fond of it, we'd rather have red meats. True Sobrekt are more likely to pick fish meat."

"True Sobrekt? Kryvtor? What's with your people and the different names? Wouldn't it be simpler if both were called 'sobrekt'?"

Blue chuckled. "If I received a crood for every time I've heard people bringing _that_ up I swear be rich." What was a crood? Ilk figured it's some sort of Sobrekt currency. "As for your question, it's a long story. In short, True Sobrekt, like Captain, and Kryvtors, like me, were not equals. Kryvtors were more like slaves until the Great War; afterwards our peoples joined up, but since the image of the True Sobrekt was more… recognized across the galaxy we decided to keep using that name to refer to our people as a whole."

It kinda reminded Ilk of the different hyooman races on Earth Zim had talked about. "Hey, Blue, have you ever been forced into a position you didn't want in the first place?"

"You mean the whole invader thing?"

"I don't want to be an Invader, but even if for some twist of fate I _don't_ become one I'm afraid dad will never see me the same way. We might have our... differences, but I love him very much and I don't want him to be disappointed in me."

"Why would he be disappointed of you? You're a great Irken with lots of potential. You brought _me_ down even though I was bigger than you," Blue's crest bristled. "Not to mention you're lovely."

Ilk blushed. She cursed herself for it when Blue's eyes lit up. "Blue, I was serious when I told you… Before the Hothians interrupted us. I cannot correspond you right now," She sighed and rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. Is this how it felt to talk about… _it_? No idea, she had never been given the so-called 'Talk'. Few Irkens got it, in reality. "Besides, I'm daughter of one of the Tallest, it wouldn't look good on me to be with another species, especially a Sobrekt.

"You're really a good person, Blue, and I'm sure someday another lady who is more deserving of you will… beat you in combat. Hopefully one of your same kind, but I cannot return your feelings. I'm sorry." She gathered the courage to lift her gaze to meet Blue's eyes, expecting to see any sign of broken-heartedness, anguish or anything related to them.

Instead, what she found in his golden-orange eyes was something she could only identify as a mixture between understanding and hurt. Was it even possible to show both? "It was never my intention to make you feel like that, Ilk. True, my people choose their mates through combat and you _did_ beat me. I _am_ interested in you, but I was aware you'd probably not return my affections," Blue's crest bristled, but this time it seemed to have been a conscious thing. "But it doesn't mean I will give up.

"This might sound cheesy, but in the little time I got to know you I can tell you're not hatched in the same clutch as the rest of the Irkens. You're compassionate and kind, you are strong and smart. I… understand that you don't see me _that_ way, especially after… Well, we kidnapped you," Blue seemed to hesitate. "But would you give me a chance to win your love?"

Ilk blinked. Was he _that_ serious about it? "Blue, I'm not…"

"You don't need to give me an answer now, I know you need time precisely because you are a smeet and it's not an easy matter for Irkens." If Ilk didn't know him she would have swore Blue had gulped. "But just in case you send me down the tube again… May I at least hug you once?"

Hug? As in… the kind of hugs she'd share with dad and uncle pur? Well, at least he hadn't asked for a kiss. It wouldn't hurt, right? Besides, he had been so nice and he was being so respectful it wouldn't be nice of her to grant him this request. She offered him a smile. "Okay." The way Blue's eyes lit up made her squeedly-spooch flutter ever so slightly.

Blue knelt down so he could be at her level. Ilk felt a shiver down her spine when she felt his long, scaly arms wrapping around her frame. She had expected his skin to be icy cold, but to her surprise it was actually warm. Ilk found herself returning the embrace, longing for the warmth. Her left antenna twitched and grazed Blue's head.

" _GET YOUR FILTHY CLAWS OFF MY DAUGHTER!_ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Reference to the movie Sharktopus, in which a similar creture of the same name appears as the main antagonist.
> 
> *The Smeet, chapter 9.
> 
> Next Chapter: Ilk reaches her limit after a monstrous argument. Meanwhile, Purple witnesses an unique (and unexpected) event. In other words, the breaking point.


	15. The Breaking Point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I posted this a day late because I just returned home from Vancouver. I'm exhausted and all I want right now is to fall on top of my bed and top dead. Anyway, this chapter will contain emotional stuff, mostly involving arguments. You'll see what I mean. Come on, the chapter na mesays it all, right?

_Once he was certain Ilk was fast asleep, Red silently climbed out of bed, tucking her in and headed out the door. He had two elites stationed outside the door at all times until he returned, just in case: he wouldn't take any chances._

_The_ Massive _has a dark history on her rear section, where the prisoner brig and interrogation rooms are located. Since her inauguration as the flagship of the Irken Armada many unfortunate aliens of different species-rebels, prisoners of war or even fellow Irkens who somehow earned the Tallest's wrath-who were held there never saw the light of a star again._

 _Irkens have a knack for extracting information. The prisoner who held vital knowledge about something soon learned it. They naturally_ enjoy _inflicting harm on inferior alien filth as a way to remind them of their place, so physical torture is the most common method. When that didn't work, they resorted to less favored but more effective methods, such as obtaining the information directly from the brain or 'truth' serum._

 _Sobrekt, however, are a_ peculiar _case. They are trained to withstand the torture of all kinds, so no amount of physical pain that would have a Vortian break and make a twenty-page confession could make them spill the soda. In the most extreme cases, they could even go into a semi-vegetative state to avoid feeling the pain or even kill themselves before having the chance of being interrogated._

_So when Red arrived at the plain, bare interrogation room where their 'guest' had been 'accommodated' he wasn't surprised to see him covered in his own blood with fresh wounds all over. But he didn't even seem to be in pain._

" _He's like an armored torik, My Tallest, he won't talk," the guy in charge of the interrogatory said. His gloves were stained in the lizard's blood. "We tried everything, but he seems to have gone… unconscious or something."_

" _Did you try to shock him awake?"_

" _Everything you think of we have tried, My Tallest. It's like he's dead-alive."_

" _Where is Tallest Purple?"_

" _Overseeing the results of the brain information extraction with the science drones."_

_Right. He said he was going to get the information directly from the sobrekt's brain. He stared the alien's limp, battered body. "I'm going in."_

_The soldier snapped his head up. "My Tallest, I'm not sure it's wise! The prisoner might as well be faking it and will spring upon you once you step inside-"_

" _I can handle him. In case you forgot, I dealt with the other one in less than thirty seconds when he was in_ top _form, I think I can deal with a dying one. Open the door."_

 _Although reluctant, the soldier obeyed and stepped aside to allow his Tallest to step in. Red walked into the interrogation room, back straight, expression calm but stern. He was the Tallest, one of the Irken leaders; he_ must _look like the epitome of strength and authority, both to his subjects_ and _his enemies._

_The sobrekt didn't move._

" _I must say, your species' reputation precedes you," Red spoke in a cold manner, but those who work close to him know that tone. He_ wasn't _happy. "Not everyone has the guts to send assassins into the flagship of the Irken Armada, after all, much less to send said assassins after the Tallest themselves. What I cannot understand is what business your…_ son _had with_ my _smeet." Red narrowed his eyes impatiently when he received no reaction from his prisoner. "Listen carefully: I'll make it easier for you. I'm only going to ask you a question._ One _simple question. If you answer me I'll_ consider _giving you a quick death."_

_He leaned forward until his face was inches away from the downcast, almost lifeless gaze. "Why did you go after my smeet?"_

_For a few, brief seconds nothing happened. Then the kryvtor started opening his eyes and the thin lines he had as pupils stared into Red's own pupiless orbs. Red almost felt a shiver down his spine. Even though the alien was at their mercy his ocular orbs continued to show the strength of a fully-seasoned warrior._

"Your _smeet?" he whispered. He started coughing. Red had the feeling it would have been a chuckle if this lizard's lungs hadn't been perforated non-fatally. "So she is_ directly _related to you."_

 _His blood relation to Ilk was usually kept a secret. Only the crew of the_ Massive _, Purple and Red himself knew. This was for security reasons, as many would take advantage of the information. Even though the secret had_ _somehow reached alien ears, it seemed the Sobrekt weren't included amongst that group. Good._ _He could make an exception this once, though, this one wouldn't leave the_ Massive _alive. "Indeed, she is. And you should know that by threatening her you threaten_ me _."_

_Another cough-chuckle. "Who would have thought? The 'Almighty' Tallest actually cares about someone-" The kryvtor hissed in pain when a gloved hand (there was no way Red would have touched his bloody skin otherwise)pressed on one of his open wounds. Red found it interesting that the famous self-regeneration hadn't started to show yet_

" _Answer me. What do you want with my daughter?"_

" _You tell me, your Tallest. You're the one who stole from us. Not only that, but you wasted the sacred flower's power on a worthless drone like her-" This time Red's hand gripped the kryvtor's throat, threatening to choke him._

" _Call her like that again and I'll cut off your tongue." Red hissed darkly, narrowing his eyes into a deep glare._

" _You won't be able to protect her forever, Irken…" this time the kryvtor_ did _manage to chuckle. "Someday you will make a mistake and you will lose her. You shall feel what_ I _felt when you took_ my _son. It's a pity I probably won't be there to see your face when it happens." The kryvtor somehow burst out into mocking laughter even though his chest started to bleed._

_The sight was too much for Red to bear. He didn't honor the kryvtor with any more words. Clenching his jaw he stomped out of the room, removing the blood-stained glove and tossing it aside without a care. He didn't even spare the guard outside a glance as he left._

" _Kill him and toss his body out of the airlock."_

* * *

Red stared at the scene in shock. His daughter, his little smeet, was being _hugged_ by an alien. Not just any alien, a flirking _Sobrekt_. There was no sign of distress of her part, she didn't try to push him away or inflict any injury now that his guard was down.

_It's just that my people see physical touch, especially close contact, as something... intimate. We reserve touching only for close people. A mild contact, such as grabbing a shoulder, is more or less acceptable, but other things such as… well, hugs…_

Hug.

Intimate.

Ilk.

Blue was _hugging_ Ilk.

Realization dawned unto him as he put two and two together. The kryvtor's different attitude, how he had been more 'friendly' with Ilk, his attempts at being as physically close to her as possible.

Naturally, he reacted as any sensate person would under these circumstances

" _GET YOUR FILTHY CLAWS OF MY DAUGHTER_!" Before he could even process what was happening he had torn Blue away from Ilk with his bare hands, standing between them to keep him as far from her as possible.

"D-Dad…!"

Blue seemed to be in shock, but he was yet to speak or protest or say anything.

"D-Dad, we were just-!"

"I don't want to hear it, Ilk!"

"Let her talk, Irken," Blue said. He was oddly calm about this. How dare he be calm when Red was _fuming_?

"I should have known you were up to something, you damn overgrown lizard! Trying to seduce my daughter to make it easier to snatch her away from me once we escaped! That was your plan all along, wasn't it?!"

"That was _not_ my intention at all."

"Get your damn scaly hide out of my sight or I'll kill you with my bare hands!" Argh, he still had that indifferent face! Red was itching to punch him and be done with it, but he refrained himself from it. Not in front of Ilk. He wouldn't give the lizard the pleasure of losing his temper in front of her.

Blue merely narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze never leaving that of the Irken's. He caught a glimpse of a terrified Ilk behind Red, silently pleading him not to start a fight with him. Blue understood why, especially at the sight of the bloodied bandages on Red's waist. Besides, it wasn't in a Sobrekt's nature to attack weakened opponents when they'd rather fight them at their best, it's considered dishonorable. With a brief, sad look at Ilk, he turned on his talons and went into the cave with the sharktopus meat.

Now that he was taken care of, for the time being, he could deal with Ilk. "Explanation. _Now_."

Ilk never imagined she'd ever be afraid of her own father, but Irken instinct dictated that one should always fear any other Irken who could loom over them, _especially_ the Tallest. And the look he was giving her didn't help either. "He just asked for a hug and I couldn't refuse!"

"You certainly _could_ have, you don't owe him anything!"

 _That_ struck a nerve, triggering Ilk's own short fuse. "What are you saying?! In case you forgot he saved your life, Lena's and mine! I owed him at least _that_ much for saving us from becoming shark bait!"

"It was the indokuro who saved us, not _him_!"

" _Fury_ acted on Blue's command!"

"Ilk, don't buy into that routine! You expect me to believe the guy who kidnapped you and put your life in danger is suddenly 'in love' with you out of thin air? He just wants to get your guard down!" Red glared down at her. "And you _let_ him do it. I told you _not_ to get attached to inferior species and yet I find you in _his_ arms, allowing his filthy alien meat to _touch_ you! How do you expect to become an Invader if you can't keep your distance from the natives?!"

By that point, Ilk had _enough_ about _that_ topic. She had vented off with Blue and Captain a while ago, and that helped her get the burning fire inside under control. But _this_? Taking advantage of _this_ situation to rub it in her face, and worse, talking as if it had been _her_ idea, overcame whatever feeling she had of not hurting dad's feelings. Ilk was so lost in her inner turmoil she didn't realize she had spoken until she caught the change in her father's face and demeanor. His frown had disappeared, instead, his eyes were open wide, his mouth was gaping and he had gone stiff. " _What_?"

Despite the unconscious outburst, Ilk knew what she had said. "I _don't_ want to be an Invader. I _won't_ be one. I don't _care_ about what the Control Brains said, I have no intention of stabbing anyone in the back, or to destroy their home and turn it into an Irk-knows-what."

Silence. A part of Ilk had been waiting for this moment, yet the other dreaded the reaction this would trigger.

Red just stood there, staring down at his smeet in utter shock. Did he just hear what he thought? It couldn't be. She couldn't do that to him, not after all he had done for her. All the effort, all the time he spent preparing her, teaching her, _everything_ , she couldn't throw all that away just because she had stupid sympathy for inferior beings!

_IF HER BEHAVIOR IS NOT CORRECTED SHE'LL HAVE TO BE… PUT DOWN._

His posture stiffened again as the anger returned tenfold, this time directed not only at Blue. "You don't get a say in it. It's already been decided." He said firmly.

"That's the point, _you_ decided it, not _me._! You didn't ask my opinion on the matter!"

"We're Irkens, Ilk. We don't get to _choose_ , we're assigned to the job that fits us best according to our abilities. The Control Brains deemed you fit for it."

"They didn't, _you_ -!"

"You _have_ to put aside the sympathy for the inferior species, Ilk. They are not deserving of it. Think they would return the favor?"

"But-!"

"You cannot go against the Control Brains. You have no idea of what they can do if you even try. As you have seen, not even _I_ can go against their rulings."

"Dad-!"

"You might not see it now, Ilk, but someday you will understand."

"Just _listen!"_

"I'm the Tallest. _You_ listen to _me_!"

She could not believe this. It finally gets through his head and he still will not budge. "AGH! This is so _unfair_!" She shouted, even kicking a nearby log for emphasis.

Red scoffed. "'Unfair'?"

"You _never_ support me if it's not what _you_ what me to do!" Ilk argued. "You just tell me what to do, what not to do, trying to make me be like you…!" She was aware of his past as an Invader himself. That was the reason he wanted her to become one. "Well, I'm not like you *****!"

He shook his head and crossed his arms. "You're acting like a smeet."

"Maybe I wouldn't if you didn't treat me like one!"

Red looked down at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You won't let me fight, and when I do you get _mad_! You confine me to the _Massive_ without even telling me why! And I don't even want to start about Foodcourtia!"

"You were in danger, the Sobrekt-!" Red tried to defend himself but was interrupted.

" _That_! That's another issue, dad! You never even told me about the whole issue with them! Were you even going to tell me _at all_ or were you going to keep me in the dark for as long as you could?!"

Red contained the urge to gulp. He couldn't show any uncertainty. "I was protecting you."

"Stop using that excuse, would you?! Had I known they were after me I wouldn't have gone out in that runner in the first place! You didn't have to lie to me!"

"Well, look who's talking! Were _you_ going to tell me that lizard was wooing you?!"

"That's not the point! You have no idea of how much I wish right now that you were _not_ my father!"

Red swore the painful sensation those words send through him was comparable to having his squeedly-spooch torn out while still being alive. He reacted the only way he knew how. "I'm serious, Ilk. Do _not_ talk to me like that or I won't be held accountable for my actions." he hissed.

She felt a shiver down her spine. He was talking as if she were a mere drone. "Or what? What will you do, _My Tallest_ , banish me to some backwater planet with a fake mission like Zim?!" Ilk snapped, almost close to tears. What she heard next nearly caused them to flow down her cheeks.

"Perhaps I should, seeing that you turned out to be a disappointment just like him!"

"If I'm a disappointment, then you're a _terrible father_!"

**SMACK!**

Before she knew it she was on the ground, her cheek burning.

Red didn't know what came over him. His vision momentarily went red, his reason was overcome with the hurt that last proclamation provoked plus the anger he had been bottling up since the previous day. When he came back to his senses he found Ilk on the ground and her hand was on top of the left side of her face. He heard Lena, Blue and Zim cry out, standing a few feet away with looks of utter shock. He spotted GIR and _Fury_ wordlessly staring.

What nearly did it was the look of hurt, betrayal and _fear_ his smeet was giving him. Realization of what he had just done dawned upon him. No, he didn't…! The painful feeling from before intensified. He tried to say something, anything, but no words would come out. "I-Ilk, I… I didn't..."

He hadn't even finished when she ran off into the woods in a heap of sobs.

Zim was the first to go after her. "Ilk-smeet, wait! Ilk-smeet!" GIR followed suit. They were joined by _Fury_. The three disappeared into the darkness.

Once Red snapped out of his shock he glared daggers at Blue, who seemed to be one second away from going with them. " _You!_ " This time he didn't hold back as he stomped his way towards the cause of this. "This is all your fault!"

"Mine?!" Blue hissed with bare teeth, indignant. "How is this _my_ fault when _you_ struck her! Assume your responsibility for once in your life!"

"Don't talk to me about responsibility, you damn lizard! Ever since you appeared you led my smeet astray! If you hadn't brought us here this wouldn't have happened!"

"That's the most pathetic excuse you've come up with, Irken. You struck her because you simply can't swallow the fact there's someone who will not blindly bend to your will like the rest of your race."

Red pointed a finger at Blue's snout with a scowl. "You take that back!"

"Red, calm down!"

The raging fire switched targets. "You stay out of this, Lena! This is _not_ your concern!"

"Anything that happens to Ilk is _my_ concern! If you hadn't put so much pressure on her-!"

"Pressure? I was doing what was best for her!"

"Red, she doesn't want to be an Invader. She doesn't feel she's made for that kind of job, you cannot force her!"

"I can and if I have no other choice then I will!"

"But Red-"

"MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!" Lena stepped back when the bomb finally exploded. "Stop acting as if you were her mother! You're not and you will never be! She's _my_ daughter and how I raise her it's NOT your problem! Don't forget your place, _medical drone_!"

The snowflakes would have made a long echo when they touched the ground following the long silence that followed. Forgetting about Red, Blue instantly checked on Lena. With one glance it was evident she'd break down at any moment. Blue glared at Red again as he led Lena inside, whispering some comforting words. Red merely sighed in irritation and brought a hand up to his face.

He hoped Purple was having it worse than him.

* * *

Purple was _bored_. Very, very bored.

While the others were busy with adapting the Hothian metal (name pending) and the electromagnetic-proof substance (name also pending) under supervision and one could even some aid from the Hothians themselves, he chose to stay behind at the _Ibris_ 's lounge to look after the indokuro egg. It was actually an excuse so he wouldn't have to do any unnecessary effort, of course. He was a Tallest. He _didn't_ stain his hands with such a thing unless his very survival was at stake.

"You do realize that your survival _does_ depend on leaving this place, don't you?" the Dib, who stayed behind as well, pointed out matter-of-factly.

"Shut up and go make me some donuts." Purple retorted without bothering to open his eyes.

"I'm going only because I want something to eat too, _not_ because you tell me." Dib took a brief glance at his recharged camera as he disappeared through the door, muttering something about a lazy lizard. Probably Foxtrot.

Purple glanced at the incubator balancing on the couch. "Guess it's just you and me." He whispered. There was no reply. Sigh. He missed Red. It was boring not to have anyone he could talk to about snacks, throwing people out of the airlock just for fun, plots to get rid of Zim, etcétera. Besides, he was worried about Ilk.

Purple yawned from the boredom. Surely it wouldn't hurt if he rests his eyes for a moment, right? Trying to find a comfortable position to lay down _was_ tiring, after all. Purple closed his eyes again and took deep breaths to relax. The only sound was the dib-hyooman trying to make the foodinator work-oops, maybe he should have reminded him to switch the language settings-and the incubator's annoying beep followed by a loud thump. The only thing missing to make this an officially-relaxing experience was his doughnuts, an antenna and foot massage, and a cool soda.

Wait a minute. Was it really a 'thump'?

Purple opened his eyes again and found the incubator was gone from where he had put it. Reluctantly he sat up in the couch, releasing a groggy yawn as he stretched up a bit. Okay, where did the incubator go? It certainly didn't fall on his legs or he would have felt it, which meant it probably fell backward, so he took a peek to confirm his suspicions.

Indeed, there it was on the ground… with a big crack on both the case _and_ the egg. Given his current, half-asleep state it took Purple a few more seconds to fully process it. With a panicked yelp, he leaned forward a bit too much, causing the couch to fall backward. Purple gave another yell-this time of pain as his body came into contact with the floor and quickly pulled the incubator into his lap. It was starting to fill up with the liquid leaking out of the egg. Shitshitshitshit! The kryvtors would have his head if they found their precious egg in this state! What to do, what to do…?!

"DIB-HYOOMAN, BRING NAPKINS!"

"What?"

"NAPKINS! HURRY!"

But it took Dib about two minutes to return back to the lounge, and when he did he dropped the tray of doughnuts and his sandwich with a loud clang. "What happened?!"

"SHUT UP AND BRING ME THE NAPKINS, OR TOWEL, OR WHATEVER!" Purple opened the incubator to take out the egg and wrap it in the towel Dib brought seconds later, especially over the crack. He shivered in slight disgust from the sensation of the fluid. "What do we do?!"

"This thing must have an emergency manual or something!" Dib examined the lid of the incubator. There was an orange button amongst the green and blue ones. Surely it was that one, right? Emergency buttons always stood out from the rest.

The holographic head of a female kryvtor with big goggles, much like Masouri but without the feather crest, appeared. _**Thanks for using the Egg-cubator 5.0. If you have any doubts regarding the proper use, press 1**_ **...**

Dib smacked his head. "You have to be kidding me."

"Isn't there a forward button or something?!" Purple snapped, almost hysterical.

_**If you do not wish to hear all the options right now because you're having an emergency, press nailtag.** _

"Nailtag?" Purple groaned at the Dib-hyooman's ignorance and pressed the corresponding button with the nailtag symbol.

 _ **If your indokuro egg has cracked for some reason, the first thing to do is to keep calm.**_ He was perfectly calm, stupid holographic image! _**You must keep as much of the fluid inside the shell as possible. To do this, grab a thick piece of cloth of any kind, hold the cracked side upwards and press the cloth**_ **very** _**gently on top of it.**_ Purple did as told; it felt almost like holding a smeet. A heavy, round, leaking smeet. _**Be sure to hold it like that until you can contact the I-KCADCOM. Thank you, have a good day!**_

"What on Irk?!" Purple shouted as the image faded. "What I'm supposed to do, hold this thing like this until we get home?!" His eye twitched as he noticed Dib was holding his camera. "Are you flirking kidding me?!"

"Hey, it's not every day you get to record the birth of an alien creature!" Dib argued back.

Purple thought he felt something stirring inside the shell, causing the crack to grow bigger and more fluid to pour out. He nearly dropped the egg when a long, sharp claw broke through the crack, breaking off a piece. Purple heard a tiny growl-cry sound coming from within as the slimy, dark gray limb stretched out.

Ignoring Dib's commentaries as he filmed his 'evidence', Purple took a peek inside the dark space. The sound was becoming more frantic. Should he help it break out? Was it even fully-developed? If this creature was similar to smeets in a way, perhaps it _thought_ it was time to come out when it realized the shell had broken. But if it _was_ time and it couldn't break out by itself, it could suffocate or something. And if he ended up killing it, it would be his neck.

_**CRACK!** _

"BY SATURN!"

* * *

The first thing he remembered was being stuck inside somewhere. It was nice and dark and warm and wet. There were whispers and voices outside. Was there somebody there? Most of his time would be spent sleeping and shifting inside the 'somewhere' trying to find a comfortable position to sleep more.

Then suddenly his world shook violently and the wet-thing started to diminish. There was a bit of an earthquake afterward. The voice he heard became loud and frightened. What was going on? He noticed there was a small, glowing line on the surface of his world. Something in the back of his consciousness told him what to do next.

He stretched out a limb, his left 'hand', and broke through the surface. He had to close his eyes shut when the whiteness intensified. A current of cold air invaded his space and went right into his chest. It was a nice sensation. He liked it. The wetness wasn't completely gone, however, and some of it was sucked in alongside the air. A cry of distress, the first sound he ever made, escaped his throat.

Then, out of nowhere, his dark, tiny world was torn open. Brrrr! It was cold! He felt his back coming into contact with something. Another cry of distress, though he had no idea of who he was calling. A loud voice shouted loudly. This called for another frightened call.

"Holy Irk!"

Wait. That voice...He knew it. He had heard it before when he was inside in his world. This prompted him to open his eyes. Everything was so bright that it hurt his pupils. Soon enough, they got used to all this brightness. He found himself staring up at something very big. It was looking down at him with big, round eyes of color he didn't know. They were pretty, though. Why did it stop talking? Keep talking, big one!

Purple stared down at the creature as it gave tiny chirps and croons, looking up at him with large yellow eyes and oval-shaped pupils. It was like a baby version of _Fury_ with dark gray scales instead of black and lacking the yellow stripe. In its place, there was a faint trace of silver. "Uhhh…. Hello…." He jumped to his feet when the indokuro hatchling tried to clumsily lunge at his chest, causing it to fall to the ground with a painful cry.

Ouch! The hatchling didn't like this new sensation on his back at all. Thankfully it only lasted a few seconds. He looked around. Wow, this world was _really_ big, even more than his original dark, damp one. The large one was even larger than he thought. Hey, where is he going? Come back!

Purple started panicking when the baby indokuro clumsily got to his feet and moved towards him. He stepped back, but wherever he moved, it would follow. It took him a few seconds to recall this was an infant and couldn't really kill him, so he came to a halt to see what it intended to do. It's head bumped against his leg. The hatchling looked up at him for a few seconds, then started rubbing his head against him, purring.

"Are you seeing this, gentlemen? This is a newly-hatched indoraptor! I gotta say, he's cute."

"Hey, Dib-hyooman, do you know what's going on?" Purple was uncertain of this particular behavior. He went to sit towards the couch on the opposite side because the other one was all dirty with the egg's fluid and scattered shell pieces to sit down. The hatchling, whose movements became less and less clumsy, followed suit and tried to climb next to him, but it was just too small for that. Hey, it's funny, at least it was until the hatchling started to whimper, prompting Purple to help him up so he'd shut up.

Dib had to say, this indoraptor reminded him of a lapdog puppy, especially when it went to curl up in Purple's lap. "Well, have you heard of imprinting? Kinda like that, sort of. You were the first creature it saw, so it probably thinks you're its mom."

"Okay…"

The hatchling didn't understand what they were saying. He didn't really care. Breaking out of his dark world and then running after the big one had tired him out. His tummy felt empty. He wanted it filled. He opened his mouth and started making sounds, demanding big one to give him food.

"Um, alien-scum?"

"What is it, hyooman?"

"I think it's hungry."

Wonderful. What was he supposed to feed it? Purple casually noted the forgotten snacks on the floor. What a waste of donuts. "Hey, hyooman, would you mind passing me those?" He snatched the bag as Dib handed it over, took one of the doughnuts and held it over the hatchling's head. "Here, mini- _Fury_." He better think of a better name.

It only stared up at the doughnut, not sure of what to do with it. "Come on, little one, it's food." Okay, that didn't work. Ugh, he'd have to show him it was edible. He had Dib bring him yet another bag of clean donuts (moment the hyooman seized to get himself another sandwich) and started munching on one. "See? You can eat it."

The hatchling stared at the small piece of... something. What was it? Then the big one started eating one. Food, then. Big one held up another piece. This time the hatchling didn't hesitate and snatched it up in his jaws. It's tasty! He wanted more! There was a bag with more of these on the soft surface. The infant indokuro lunged at it and devoured its contents.

What to do now? What was he going to tell the kryvtors when they returned? Speak of the devil, he could hear their voices coming down the elevator, apparently arguing with Larb or somebody else about something. "Hey, Dib-hyooman, is your camera still working?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I want to make sure there's evidence and a witness in case I get murdered. ***** "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *The famous 'I'll never be like you' scene from Brave made it into this part, I admit. I felt the situation is technically the same, Red is trying to impose on Ilk what he wants her to be and she finally snaps, neither is willing to listen to othe other, etcetera.
> 
> *Reference to the Drake and Josh episode in which Drake accidentally marries a foreign frend of Josh. Later in the episode, Josh makes a similar statement when their parents find out.
> 
> Next Chapter: Red must face his demons and fears in order to save Ilk's life.


	16. Lecturing on Fatherhood

"Ilk-smeet!"

"Ilkieeee!"

" _Raaaaaaaawwr!"_

At first, it wasn't that hard to follow her track, they just had to follow her footprints, but it seemed she had caught on and the trail ended a few meters ahead. So now the trio resorted to calling out. It was cold and dark out there, so they better find her fast before anything else did.

"Okay, if I were an emotionally wrecked smeetager* where would I go?" Zim asked no one in particular. He was just thinking out loud. Again.

"How about under her bed?" GIR suggested. Zim noted he wasn't acting erratically for once, though the suggestion _was_ stupid, and he wasn't even in duty mode. Guess he really was concerned about Ilk.

 _Fury_ was holding up his head and looking around. "What's up, _Fury-_ beast?" Zim asked him. Judging by how he was tilting his head to the sides, he guessed the indokuro had heard something and tried to see where it was coming from. "Did you find Ilk-smeet? Take us to her at once!" He didn't even need to ask for permission to get unto _Fury_ 's back, dragging GIR along just as _Fury_ darted off through the trees until he came into a clearing with a particular rock formation.

Ilk had curled up under it, hugging her knees and hiding her face in her arms. "Ilk-smeet, there you are!" Zim cried, hopping off _Fury_.

"If you're going to defend him… or try to justify what he did, save it." Ilk muttered hoarsely before he could get any closer. "I don't want to hear it."

Zim was speechless. She hadn't called the Tallest 'dad'. It was even worse than he thought. "Aww, don't be sad, Ilkie." GIR was the first to go close and give Ilk a hug. She didn't push him away, prompting _Fury_ to approach and rub his head against her body, purring. Zim wanted to go close, but he wasn't sure if she'd want _him_ to touch her.

Zim was aware of his… egomaniac tendencies. He was Zim, after greatest Invader the Empire ever had, of course, he'd be proud of all his achievements and rub it into everyone's faces. Nobody could ever hope to beat him. The Almighty Tallest themselves had sent him on a secret mission because of this.

None of his fellow Irkens seemed to notice, though. He was always left out of big events, tossed aside while they did everything they could to embarrass him in front of his Tallest, particularly _Larb_. Damn you, Larb! Then there were the others who avoided him and tried to pretend he didn't exist at all, feeling threatened and overshadow by Zim's awesomeness. Irk, even the _Sobr-beasts_ , one of the Empire's most notable enemies, were more aware of Zim's incredible skill and talent and treated him with the admiration and respect he deserved.

Ilk was a different matter. She was nice, she looked up to him and she stood up for him in front of his leaders. Zim seldom cared about anyone, Invaders needed no one, after all, but Ilk (and begrudgingly, GIR and Minimoose) held a special place in his squeedly-spooch for being the only true friend he had amongst his own kind. So naturally, he hated whenever she was sad.

"I'm not going to defend what Tallest Red did, Ilk-smeet," Zim spoke with an uncharacteristic seriousness and lack of reverence as he spoke of the Tallest. "Even if I _actually_ wanted to, there's just nothing I can say that will justify it."

"How could he…?" Ilk's voice became shaky again. Zim noted she was trembling. "I never thought he'd… All because I wouldn't…! He said I was a disappointment, it's just like I imagined it...!"

Zim contained the urge to point out his Tallest hadn't meant it. Ilk just said she didn't want to hear any words that defended him. "You're not a disappointment, Ilk. You don't want to be an Invader, so what? You'll be the best at anything else!"

"He won't _let_ me try anything else! I don't understand, just...!" Ilk finally lifted her gaze. The corners of her eyes were dark and her cheeks were stained with her own tears.

Zim tentatively took some steps forward to sit down next to Ilk. He froze when she leaned in against him, going into yet another heap of sobbing. It wasn't out of disgust for someone daring to touch the amazing Zim, but rather because he sucked at comforting people, partly because he had never comforted anyone. It seemed easy enough, all he had to do was offer a 'hug', right? With this in mind, Zim wrapped an arm around Ilk's trembling shoulders to pull her closer, prompting the smeetager to further snuggle against the hold.

 _Fury_ lifted his head in alarm, his pupils gone to slits. Zim noticed he was tilting his head to the sides, just like a while ago when he heard Ilk's sobbing. This time, however, his spines bristled and he gave a low growl. "Ilk-smeet, I think something's wrong."

"Master, as you hearing that?" GIR asked in his tiny, frightened little voice. Zim felt his grip on his arm.

"If it's dad, tell him I don't want to see him." Ilk said without moving from her spot.

"Ilk-smeet, I'm serious, I think we should-"

It happened too fast. _Fury_ picked the three of them and leaped away just as something whizzed through the air and exploded on the spot they had been on a mere seconds ago. The force caused _Fury_ to lose his balance and land headfirst unto the snow, still holding his charges in his front legs protectively.

"What the…?!" After recovering from the shock, and the painful head bump, Zim traces the smoke trail back to its source. "You have to be flirking kidding me."

Ilk distinguished the shape of a big, overweight creature clad in red and white robes with matching legs sticking out from its sides. "What is that thing, another animal?!"

Zim gulped nervously. "Actually, it's one of Zim's… failed plans."

"Hi, Santa *****!" GIR waved enthusiastically at it.

"And how did he end up all the way here?!"

"Talk later!" Zim barely had time to push Ilk out of the way as another projectile launched from one of Santa suit's legs to exploded. _Fury_ shrieked and lunged at the Santa suit. Both wrestled for a few seconds before _Fury_ tore one of the candy-cane-colored limbs, causing the Santa suit to shoot unknown ammunition at him, sending him flying against a tree.

"Big black iguana, nooo!" GIR cried as he ran over to _Fury_. Contrary to Zim's expectations, though, GIR didn't check up on the indokuro. Instead, he picked up the brick-like object thrown at him. "FRUITCAKE!

Ilk panicked when the monster's attention turned to them. "And how do we kill that thing?! Is there a way to turn it off?!" She screamed when one of the legs aimed at them. Zim grabbed her by the arm and dragged her along as he ran away from the scene with his _PAK-legs._

"I don't know!"

"You built that thing and you don't know how it works?!"

"I never said that! I said I don't know how to turn it off! It was supposed to be a suit made out of vortian liquid substance controlled by brain strip interface!"

"Vortian?!" Flirk. They were doomed. Both she and Zim screamed in fright when the leg stomped _in front_ of them. "Why is he attacking us!"

"Wish I knew!"

Two long white tendrils of the dozens that made up the creature's long, messy beard wrapped around them, lifting them into the air and close to its face. Where is _Fury_ when you need him?! "PUT ZIM DOWN, YOU SANTA ABOMINATION!" Santa suit blinked. It brought Zim closer to its non-existent nose (at least it didn't look like he had one) and started sniffing him. "As your creator, I order you to-!" Zim couldn't finish as Santa suit's tongue came into contact with his face.

Ilk stared at Zim, then at the Santa-creature, then back at Zim again. "What just happened?"

"He's going to eat me! GIR, save your master!"

"FRUITCAKE!"

"It doesn't look hostile anymore…" Ilk pointed out. On the contrary, it seemed to get… affectionate with Zim, judging by how it was now rubbing him against its large head.

"ILK! ILK, ARE YOU-!"

Ilk froze when the last person she wanted to see at the moment emerged from the bushes.

* * *

It definitely wasn't his day.

In between Ilk being wooed by an overgrown lizard, narrowly avoiding being eaten by a mutant shark, being life-indebted to _Captain_ of all people, hurting Lena's feelings, and the worst of all, laying a hand on his beloved smeet, now he comes and finds both her and Zim in the clutches of yet another monster.

"What is that thing?!" he heard Blue ask from beside him.

"It's a long story, Blue-beast!" Zim growled in-between the creature's licking. "STOP STAINING ZIM'S FACE WITH GERMS!"

Red couldn't care less about Zim. Ilk was in that monster's grasp. "Ilk, are you alright?!" No reply. "ILK!" If this creature seemed to like Zim, though, perhaps it would listen to him? "Zim, tell your… pet to put her down!"

" _Don't_ , Zim."

Red stared at Ilk in utter shock before glaring at Zim. "Zim, as your Tallest I order you to have this thing put Ilk down!"

Before Zim could respond a familiar shriek came from within the woods at the same time as its tall, emaciated-looking owner. This one was even larger than the last one, however. Santa suit responded with a roar of its own, provoking the mendigo into screaming again. Zim and Ilk were safely placed on top of a nearby rock before Santa suit attacked the monster to defend its creator. At least that's what Ilk assumed it was doing.

"ILK!" She froze at the familiar, suffocating arms around her frame. "Ilk, are you-?" She didn't let him finish before roughly getting free of the hold. "I'm _fine_." Ilk said curtly, not bothering to give her dad a glance.

" _Hitorken_ -Zim, where is _Fury_?!"

"Well, let's say he and the Santa suit had a… rocky start."

As the fight got more violent, the Santa suit inadvertently shot an explosive fruit cake towards the group while trying to aim at the mendigo. It hit at the base of a tree, sending snow and splinters everywhere. The sound of creaking wood told Blue what was going to happen. "TIMBER!"

The tree crashed down. A scream of pain pierced the air, intermingling with Santa suit's shrieks and the mendigo's snarls.

"Ilk-smeet!"

Red whipped his head around towards the tree and sat two small, short legs sticking out from underneath it. "ILK!" She hadn't been able to jump out of the way in time. The weight of the entire lof was pressing unto her legs, rendering her immobile. "I'm stuck!" she cried with tears rolling down her cheeks. Red was instantly by her side. He didn't care if she'd reject him again, she _needed_ him.

"Ilk, don't move!" he said, grabbing her hand tightly. This time she didn't pull it away.

"I will get you out, Ilk-smeet!"

Blue gave a long whistle. At first, nothing happened other than the mendigo noticing them. Then _Fury_ and GIR appeared from the tree line. "ILKIE!" The latter went to help Zim in trying to lift the log with their bare hands.

"Fury, _up_!" At his master's command, Fury dug into the ground and somehow managed to fit his head and back beneath the log. "Everyone, on the count of three, lift it! One, two, three!" The log was only lifted a bit, but it was enough for Red to pull Ilk out from under it. Her legs didn't seem broken, but they were severely bruised.

Another shriek from the mendigo. The Santa suit had wrapped his limbs around it, immobilizing it, but it was apparent it was at its limit. Perhaps it had been here for so long that it was running out of power? Anyhow, it seemed to be making time for something. Zim felt a shiver down his spine when it looked at him with a solemn look. Zim's eyes opened wide; he had installed a self-destruct device in the suit in case it was compromised.

"EVERYONE, TAKE COVER!"

**BOOM!**

* * *

Lena jumped to her feet when suddenly the ground trembled. Her antenna perked up, catching the loud explosion that came from the outside. It must have been a very powerful one if she could feel it from here.

Part of her nearly took her outside towards the source and make sure Red and Ilk were okay, but she planted her feet on the ground. They would be fine, he was the Tallest and was more than capable of protecting Ilk. Besides, he had made it _very_ clear he didn't need her. What a fool she had been to think he _liked_ her. She should have gone with her instinct from the beginning; a Tallest would never show interest in a lowly medical _drone_.

It didn't mean it didn't hurt, however. The way he had just referred to her as such after what they went through. After she saved his life and Ilk's. After she sacrificed her favorite skirt to wash the wounds on his ungrateful body! Lena blinked the tears away from her eyes before they could roll down her cheeks. It wasn't worth it. She went back to rubbing Captain to give as much warmth as possible.

Lena quickly removed her hands when she felt a movement. Then she heard a low growl. "Captain?" Her answer came in the manner of yet another low growl as the Sobrekt started moving little by little. "Captain, can you hear me?"

He blinked a few times before glancing back at her. His pupils were almost two perfect ovals, probably from his deeply relaxed state. "What… Doc…?" He shifted around a bit. Lena heard a few bones snapping. "Where are we?"

"In a cave. We brought you here after you entered… amok or something."

A look of realization flickered unto Captain's features. "Fuck," he looked at Lena. "Guess Blue already explained it, didn't he?" Lena nodded. "Wonderful. I bet your Tallest is going to take advantage of that information." She winced at the mention of Tallest Red. "What?"

"What do you mean with 'what'?"

"You flinched when I mentioned your leader. What happened while I was out? Did you two have a fight or…? No, don't answer, your face says it all."

Lena looked away. "Are all Sobrekt so good at reading people or is it just you?"

Captain chuckled. "You could say it's a whole race thing, but I'm particularly good at it." He took a quick look around. "Hey, where is everybody?"

Almost on cue, a loud cry resounded within the cave. "LENA!" The irkenette whipped her head around to the entrance of the cave just as the rest of the group returned. Her eyes went wide and her hands went straight to cover her mouth to contain a horrified gasp.

Ilk was in her father's arms, unconscious. Her clothing was stained in her own pink blood, pouring out of her abdomen right where a long, sharp branch had somehow gone through her.

What stunned her the most was the state Red was in. "L-Lena, Ilk is…! Please do something! Tell me you can save her, _please_!" he _begged_. The _Almighty Tallest_ was _begging_. Tears were streaming down his cheeks as he gave her a pleading look. He was desperate. Lena's nurturing instinct overcame whatever anger she felt at him for the earlier treatment. Ilk needed her.

But as she took a look at the wounded area, a cold shiver ran down her spine. "... Oh, Irk." It didn't look good. She had evidently lost tons of blood; even if she pulled the stick out she wouldn't be able to stitch it closed. Plus there was a risk of collateral damage to tissue, bones, etcétera.

"Will she be okay?!" Blue asked. There was notable despair in his voice.

Lena closed her eyes shut when they started getting humid."The branch pierced right through her squeedly-spooch," Her hand covered her mouth again. "In our current situation and without any tools there's nothing I can do."

 _Nothing I can do_.

Those words echoed in his head numerous times. He didn't hear the argument between Lena and Blue, something about what would happen if she removed the stick. He didn't even hear Zim and GIR's hysterical wailing as they embraced each other. All his attention was focused on the bleeding smeet in his arms. Though she was unconscious there was a pained grimace on her face. His grip on Ilk became stronger as he held her little body close, staining his armor with her pink blood.

No. No, no, no! NO! He couldn't lose her, not after the last thing he said to her was that she was a disappointment! He didn't want her to die thinking he didn't love her anymore! He didn't want her to die AT ALL! Not when he promised her he'd always protect her!

Then he remembered. "T-The flower!" Red cried, hopeful. "She has the self-regeneration, doesn't she? She'll heal by herself, right?"

"It doesn't work like that, Irken." For the first time, Captain spoke, half-startling Red. Since when had he been standing here? He stepped forward and grimly looked down at Ilk. "Major injuries such as this one requires a particular process-"

"What do you mean a particular process?!"

Captain growled, took a deep breath and continued. "Mild wounds such as cuts and scratches will heal on their own, but major lesions and limb losses are other issues. They require a complete regeneration, and that takes time and lots of cells; in order for our bodies to produce it we need help.

"For those cases, there are special regenerative clinics in Sobr. We get inside healing capsules that first sends us into _amok_ , then fills with a gel that stimulates the body to release blastema cells into the limb stub or injured tissue to start the healing and regeneration."

"Go straight to the point, Captain!" Red snapped impatiently and at the verge of breaking down. "What are you saying, that there's nothing to do?!"

A sigh. "Not unless you got a bathtub with warm water in your PAK."

"Bathtub?" GIR perked up his single antenna. "There's a rock bathtub over there!" He vaguely pointed further into the cave.

"Rock bathtub?" Blue repeated.

"Yeah. I found it a while ago, wanna see?"

Frankly, Red was _so_ desperate he was willing to cling to any hope to save his daughter. He followed GIR into the cavern with only the SIR's flashlights integrated into its eyes to illuminate their way, with the rest following soon after with some torches taken from the bonfire. _Hang on, Ilk, you're going to be okay_. That's what he wanted to believe.

The 'rocky bathtubs' turned to be thermal water pools. If it weren't for the current predicament perhaps he would have enjoyed the rise in temperature. He looked at Blue and Captain with bloodshot eyes. "Will this suffice?!" He grew impatient when he got no immediate reply. "Captain?!"

"I'm not sure…"

"Captain, it's warm and thermal waters have healing properties *****! It might not be reggel, but it should trigger the blastema cells!"

"The issue is she's an Irken, not a Sobrekt or even a Kryvtor. We don't know if it will work the same with her-"

"I'm willing to take the risk, Captain! I'm not going to let my daughter die if there's something I can do to save her! Tell me what to do!"

Captain didn't look very convinced, but finally, he nodded. First, they had to carefully remove the stick from Ilk's abdomen; Lena did most of the job in this part. If she took her job seriously before, now she applied every single medical knowledge in both her organic and _PAK_ brains. Zim and GIR proved to be surprisingly useful. There were no yells, complaints or self-gratification praises from Zim nor temper tantrums or hyperactivity from GIR. Both knew Ilk's life depended on this.

Once the stick was gone Ilk's clothing had to be removed. Red almost kicked Blue out for this one, but his priority was saving Ilk's life, so he instead focused on her as they carefully placed her into one of the pools, submerging the injured part of her body underneath the warm waters, unintentionally tinting it pink with Ilk's blood. Lena sacrificed the rest of her skirt to wrap around Ilk's waist and stop any further bleeding.

"What now?" Zim asked with uncharacteristic seriousness.

"We wait." Captain said. "For _either_ option. The rest depends on her. Still, someone should stay to keep an eye on her."

"I will." Blue and Red said simultaneously. The latter glared at the former. "You stay out of this, lizard."

"I care about her as much as you do, Irken."

"Don't even try to compare yourself to me. I am her father, you're nothing more than a-"

" _I_ will stay with her." Lena interrupted. She had already entered the pool to gently grab Ilk's body in her arms. "She's _my_ patient. Take your quarrels somewhere else if you don't mind."

Red wanted to protest, but the look in Lena's eyes gave him the willies. She _was_ serious this time. She had proven that she was more than capable to keep his child alive on more than one occasion. "I'm entrusting you with her life, Lena." He was about to place a hand on her shoulder but she shifted away from him.

"I only do my job, My Tallest."

Tallest. She had called him Tallest, not Red. Her voice was devoid of that friendly, lovely warmth which had up to now been present in all of their interactions. He momentarily wondered why until he remembered what he had said to her not long ago. Flirk. "Lena…"

"You should all go rest."

"Zim needs no rest, Lena-doc. I will make sure the Ilk-smeet recovers along with you."

"Me too!" GIR chirped, popping out a bunch of flowerless stems with strips of bacon from his empty head compartment. "Besides, she'll need something to cheer her up when she wakes up!"

He might hate the garbage SIR unit, but sometimes he envied him. He was so naive that he never let grief or guilt consume him if he felt any. With him, it was hard to tell.

Reluctantly and with a heavy squeedly-spooch Red turned around and went back the way they came. Captain and Blue walked up ahead of him. He heard whispering coming from the latter, he was probably catching Captain up with what had happened during his… nap. Once they were back at the entrance he sat down near a corner to hide his face in his hands. The last thing he wanted was Captain noticing he was still weeping. He'd probably mock him.

Oh, Ilk. His poor smeet… If he hadn't been so hard, if he hadn't… the memory of the indokuro's attack on the _Massive_ four years ago came back to haunt him. This time there were no medics nor superior Irken technology to save her, however. It would all depend on luck. If this method didn't work...

And Lena. How could he tell her those horrible things? She saved both his life and Ilk's, she had shown she cared for them both and he repaid her by treating her with undue contempt. He'd be fortunate if she spoke to him again after this.

For the first time in his life, Red felt… lost.

"The Almighty Tallest weeping? _Now_ I've seen everything."

Red tensed up. "I'm not in the mood for that, Captain. Leave me be." He growled, gripping his forearms and turning his face away.

A snort. "Crying like a big hatchling is not going to change things, you're just wasting precious body fluids, even for an _Irken_."

"I don't know if you've noticed, but my daughter could _die_!"

"She's not going to die. She's a warrior, she'll pull it through."

In later years Red would brag about this to whoever listened, often exaggerating or omitting a few details, such as his emotional state at the time. At that moment, however, he merely got himself carried away by the turmoil of negative emotions.

Red lunged at Blue with a wrathful yell and brought him down. He didn't care if his hands broke again or if Blue retaliated. All he wanted was to vent out all this frustration, anger and pain unto the main source. He was so drawn into the outburst he didn't realize he had been pulled off the kryvtor until he found himself violently squirming in Captain's hold while _Fury_ pulled Blue back by the tail with his jaws.

"SHUT UP!" Red screamed. "SHUT UP! DON'T YOU DARE ACTING AS IF YOU CARED FOR HER JUST SHE BEAT YOU IN A STUPID FIGHT! SHE'S NOT YOURS, SHE'S _MINE_! I'M NOT LETTING A FUCKING, OVERGROWN LIZARD TAKE HER AWAY FROM ME!" He would have continued, but a smack on the back of his head, strong enough to make him lose his footing, brought him back to his senses.

Captain had enough. " _Calm down, Irken_!" He took the Irken leader by the shoulders and snarled openly at him, his pupils turned into two thin lines. "Act like an adult, for the ancestors' sake! Stop blaming Blue for whatever happens to her, okay?! He was not the one who pushed her into running away into danger in the first place by _slapping_ her!"

Red stared at him, agape. "How did you…? You were-!" *****

"Your screams could be heard from three planets away," Captain said dryly. He finally released Red, his gaze somewhat cooling down as he glanced at Blue and _Fury_. "You two get out of here. We need to have a word." Blue looked like he wanted to protest, but _Fury_ started pushing him away with the head. Eventually, he conceded and walked out of the cavern.

"Word about what?" Red frowned, crossing his arms. "What do you think you say will make me feel better?"

"My intention is not to make you feel better, Irken. On the contrary, what I'm going to tell you is probably going to piss you off even more, but you have to hear it or you'll never get over it."

Red scoffed. "Get over what?"

"Your possessiveness of your smeet."

"Possessiveness? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Don't you remember what you just said when you attacked Blue? You said that she's not his, that she's _yours_ , just like that as if she were an object of some sorts. What is she to you, anyway? An actual daughter or a trophy?"

Red's antenna flattened. "How dare you-?!" He was about to step forward, but Captain lifted a hand, signaling him to stop.

"Answer the question," he said.

"She's MY daughter!"

Captain frowned. "You did it again. You emphasized that she's _yours_ as if she actually belonged to you."

"Technically she does! She's made from my DNA, that means she's mine to take care of and…" Red froze. He had just proved Captain right. He had referred to her as a possession instead of a daughter. "I…"

"See what I mean?"

"So what if you're right?!" Red turned away, averting his gaze. "I raised her! I bathed, and changed, and nursed her *****! I held her as a smeet when she cried, I laughed with her!"

"So that does make her your property?" *****

"I _never_ said such a thing, Sobrekt! All I said was..." Red stopped himself, finding himself at a loss of words.

"Look, Irken, I know you're new to this fatherhood thing. Your kind isn't used to it, after all. You don't raise kids. Heck, your kids don't even need it, so it's normal you're pretty much confused about how you feel about your child," Captain's gaze softened. "Now that we're on it, why do you want her to become an Invader so desperately? She says no, but you keep insisting and you were willing to force her into being one. Why are you so obsessed with that? Do you _really_ think it's the best for her or is it something else entirely?"

Red's Irken pride and arrogance wanted to argue, but the Sobrekt's words were sinking into him. _Why do I want her to be an Invader?_ He had never asked himself that question. _He_ had been an Invader before becoming Tallest, and was amongst the best of his generation, if not _the_ best. He knew it was a prestigious position, if risky, but he had conquered world after world without a drop of sweat. It would only be natural that his smeet, his own flesh and blood, would be as good as him, maybe even better; he had always wished to see Ilk at the next Great Assigning as one of the top Irken Elite, receive transmissions to hear of her successful advances and watch as she fired the first cannon of the Organic Sweep, then he'd hear all the Irkens comment how alike she was to him, or how he had been a great teacher…

The realization came over him like a bucket of cold hydrochloric acid.

"Your silence says it all." Captain leaned against the wall with a deep snort. "Besides, from the way you've been making a ruckus whenever she fought or even got a mere _scratch_ she wouldn't have lasted long on _any_ planet."

Defeated, Red allowed himself to fall rear-first to the ground, his gaze downwards. " _I promised her…_ "

"What?"

"After _you_ sent that monster to the _Massive_ for your flower, after it tore her leg apart right in front of me…" Red closed his eyes shut. He wouldn't give Captain the pleasure to see him cry. "I promised Ilk I would always protect her."

There was a long silence. Captain studied Red for a long moment, then said. "That's an… interesting promise."

Red stared at him. "What do you mean?"

"Because if parents always 'protected' their kids, then the little ones would never experience anything," Captain gave Red a half-sympathetic, half-scolding glance."That's another aspect of fatherhood you have to understand, Irken. Children grow up eventually and they will leave to start lives of their own. All parents must deal with and accept it."

"And if I don't?"

Captain sighed and forlornly glanced to the outside. "All mothers and fathers have wished at some point that their kids don't grow up. That they will be able to keep watching over them and keep them close. But just like everything else in this universe, parents are not _eternal_. Sooner or later they will pass on, and when they do their children must already know how to live without them in order to survive."

"I don't mean to be mean, of course, not _this_ time. But you have to face it, Irken; your _PAK_ prolongs your life, but old age or sickness is not the only thing that can kill you considering your race lives off the wars you provoke. Something could happen to you; your flagship could blow up with you in it, an assassin could get past your guards and blow your head up or anything like that. Perhaps not today, tomorrow, even next week, but someday. If that happens, how is your beloved smeet going to face the universe without you holding her little hand?

"It's okay to worry about her wellbeing, but you shouldn't try to put her inside a crystal case. You should know better than anyone that in order to learn you must have experience, both good and bad. No one likes their kids having an awful time, but they learn from mistakes and grow from them. You became who you are because of the experiences you've had throughout your life. And it's your lack of experience in the… coping-with-your-kid-growing-up department that led to this."

Captain stared at Red intently, looking for any sign that he was actually listening. Judging by his stiff body language and how his antenna were twitching, he guessed he was. After a long moment of awkward silence, the Irken spoke again. "Why are you telling me this?" He asked without lifting his gaze. "Why would you want to help me if you hate me?"

Captain chuckled. "I don't hate you _that_ much, Irken. Let's say I kind of sympathize with you… fathers should stick out for one another every now and then."

Red blinked and looked up at the Sobrekt in surprise, almost agape. Did this mean…?

_Saving Ilk's life cost the lives of many others._

"You lost someone to Drilo's disease," Red concluded. Captain turned away, confirming his suspicion. He thought Captain would try to wiggle his way out of that topic, but surprisingly he didn't.

"My clutch of 24 eggs caught the disease. We had to smash them," Captain closed his eyes shut. Red noted his hands going into tight fists and the spines on his head bristling. "They didn't even get to hatch," he sighed and opened his eyes. "I hope you never go through the experience of losing your smeet, Irken. It kills you on the inside, you feel empty, almost like a part of you… died with them."

Whatever animosity the Irken leader felt for his scaly rival vanished, at least for the time being. He was sure he would regret this, but at the moment he just allowed the words to slip out. "I'm sorry." When he got a better look at Captain his eyes widened.

"What?" Captain asked curiously when he noted Red was staring at him as if he had seen a ghost.

"Captain, you're naked."

Blinking, he looked down and realized he wasn't wearing his armor. They probably took it off while he was in _Amok_. That kind of explained the cold. Rather than getting embarrassed, Captain merely laughed. "A good thing a Sobrekt's reproductive organs are internal."

Red went pale and covered his eyes. " _Would you please put some clothes on?!_ " He didn't know if Captain was teasing him, but he didn't want the picture of a naked Sobrekt in either of his brains.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I included Santa here because I wanted to do a Christmas chapter, but sadly I miscalculated the posting time. So a very late Christmas to you all XD.
> 
> *This one's a fact. Thermal water is known to have therapeutic effects on the skin and the richness and variety in minerals can hold medicinal properties that may relieve conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. In this case, it stimulates the body to create the cells involved in the limb regeneration, much like the reggel.
> 
> *Trivia: unconscious Sobrekt can actually tell what's going on around them. This is a defense mechanism in case they are ambushed in their sleep. Should this happen, their brain sends alarms through their body, causing them to jolt awake in a semi-savage state for a few seconds to react accordingly to the source of danger.
> 
> *Reference to the lyrics of Mother Knows Best song from Tangled. The 'nursed' part, though, would have a different meaning for Irkens, for obvious reasons.
> 
> *I think that in a way, Red unconsciously sees Irk as a sort of possession. You can't really blame him for this, though. Irkens are not used to parenting, so sometimes they don't know how to properly react to certain feelings evoked in them by natural-born smeets. In this case, Red got so attached to his child he started seeing her as property, even if he didn't realize it until now.
> 
> Next Chapter: Red must face the past to face the consequences of his actions. Meanwhile, the prisoners get into quite the predicament.


	17. Confrontation

"Hey, little guy, come over here!"

"Can I pet it?"

"He's cute!"

The hatchling merely looked around at the other, smaller green creatures that looked similar to big one.

"All of you back off!" Purple snapped. "You're scaring _Donut!"_

Echo muttered from her corner. "What a dumb name."

Purple glared at her. "Hey, that's _my_ line!" He snapped.

Much like he imagined, there was a ruckus when the kryvtors saw the empty incubator and the indokuro hatchling. They tried to take him, but the hatchling would squirm and wiggle out of their grasp, sometimes biting their hands in the process, and scurry back to Purple's side to hide under his robes. Then they realized there was nothing to do: he had imprinted on Purple, much like Dib said.

The Irkens were _thrilled_ to have an indokuro on their side, even if it was an infant and only let Tallest Purple touch it. Larb got a nasty bite when he tried to grab its tail, _then_ Foxtrot pointed out no Sobr creature liked its tail touched.

"So when can we teach him to do cool stuff?" Stink inquired. "Like open doors, use escape pods and all that?"

"Explaining it to you would require more patience than we can muster," Echo muttered bitterly.

"Please ignore Echo, she was hoping to hatch the egg herself to become an _Indokani_ *****."

" _Indokani_?" Tenn raised an antenna.

"Whoever works with an indokuro is called an _indokani_. It's a branch of our military-Ouch!" Masouri yelped in pain when Foxtrot's tail came into contact with his snout, only to realize he was about to reveal information about the Sobrekt ranks. "Anyway, it means 'indokuro tamer'." They wouldn't get mad if he said the meaning of the word, would they?

"So that makes me an _indokani_?"

Echo scoffed. "As if. You were just lucky to have had the hatchling imprint on you. Otherwise, you must take an exam, and no Irken would ever be accepted in it."

Skoodge held up another doughnut just over _Donut's_ maw, which he snatched and ate ravenously. The little one didn't really respond to it's given name, though. "Why doesn't it answer to its name?" He casually asked Masouri.

"They're picky with names. Be expected to try at least twenty before it answers to one."

"Aren't we supposed to sex it first? How do we see if it's a boy or a girl?"

"You can't. The only way to see is either through DNA samples or…" Foxtrot's crest bristled. "Well, I'm not sure you want to hear the other one."

Purple had an idea as to what that entailed, though. "You're right, I _don't_."

Dib quickly raised his hand. "I do!"

Out of the blue, a dozen Hothian soldiers entered the _Ibris_ 's lounge. The hatchling scurried away from Purple's lap and slid underneath the couch. Electrical webbing nets were thrown and spears were pointed at the prisoners.

" _You three are coming with us_." One said in her native tongue, pointing at Purple, Echo, and Dib. They didn't understand what she had said but had a clear idea as to what she wanted.

"The hell we will, Alien-scum!" Dib snapped. He quickly regretted it when a nearby Hothian dug the tip of his electrified spear into his side; he fell to the ground, almost convulsing from the jolts running through his body. The same was done to Purple and Echo.

Their respective parties cried out, but they were quickly subdued with the energized netting. Iraa entered the ship at that moment with a dark expression. "I'm very disappointed in you, people." He sighed, shaking his head. "Just when I thought we were understanding one another."

"What are you talking about?!"

"You really thought we were fools?" The same soldier from before searched through the couch and took out the stolen vortpad. "That doesn't belong to you, kids. Don't you know it's wrong to steal?"

Masouri snarled. "Says the man who wants to steal MY ship!"

"See, that's the problem here. I was willing to let you tag along once we got off this place, but after this, I'm afraid you cannot be trusted." Iraa's expression turned darker, if it was even possible, as he held a gun to the stunned Tallest's head, prompting another soldier to do the same with Echo. "Here's the deal: you fix the ship as soon as possible, and I will _not_ blow their heads up." He narrowed his eyes when Larb and Stink snickered in disbelief. "You don't believe me?"

He aimed at Purple's leg and fired a burning plasma shot at it: the painful scream was muffled by the rag forcibly kept over his mouth to silence him. The Invaders reacted, but the electric webbing kept them on the ground, yelling in pain and horrified shock. Iraa waved a hand; the three prisoners were dragged away.

"Are you ready to cooperate?"

Masouri had no idea what was infuriating him more; the fact that Echo was taken away, or the insufferable smile in Iraa's face. "Fine." He hissed through grit teeth.

"Good. Now get to work!" The netting was removed and the remaining captives were pushed out of the lounge and towards the engine room.

Nobody noticed a little speck of black scurrying out of the _Ibris_.

* * *

After his talk with Captain Red found himself walking out of the cave in search of Blue. He wasn't going to apologize, of course. An Almighty Tallest never apologized to anyone (Lena and Ilk would be the only exceptions, but those were exceptional cases), he just wanted to be on the same page until they escaped from here. Besides, part of him had to give him some due gratefulness, he _did_ save him, Ilk and Lena back at the lake.

He didn't have to go far. He found Blue sitting on top of a big stone just outside, with _Fury_ curled up around it. The latter lifted his head and growled at him. " _Fury_ ," Blue warned.

"You're not going to send him upon me?" Red asked coldly.

"And stoop to your level?" Blue chuckled, only to rub his sore cheek. "No, thank you."

Red was surprised his hits actually hurt him. He dislocated his hand when trying to punch Captain, after all. Guess Kryvtors have thinner skin. "We need to talk."

"About Ilk, I guess?" Blue inquired. He noticed how the Irken clenched his fists.

The nerve of this kryvtor! "...Yes. About Ilk." He took a deep breath, managing to calm himself down.

"Irken, I have no bad intentions with her. She's a very nice person, and I-"

"Please don't say that you love her. Just… don't. You've barely known her for what? Three, four days. You seriously cannot expect me to believe you're interested in her just because she beat you at some fight-"

"It's not just about being beaten in 'some fight', Irken." Blue frowned. "True, we Sobrekt choose our mates through fighting to pass the strongest genes to the next generation, but it's not only about that. In the end, the winning party has the last word in the matter, because he or she is the stronger one. So even though I am interested in Ilk romantically, it is her decision to accept me or not."

"She doesn't have the maturity to make such a decision," Red said firmly. "She's not even a year old. ***** "

"I know and respect that. I'm willing to wait two irken years if necessary until she's old enough; heck, I'd wait ten irken years for an answer from her." Blue wasn't exaggerating. Sobrekt were very patient, especially when it came to finding their mate. "Even if she ends up rejecting me she'll still have a special place in my heart because she was the first to overcome me. The first to keep up with me evenly in a fair fight, the first to bring me down and prove she could be my equal."

"You do know that even if that were to happen, you'd still have to get through _me_ to have her, don't you?" Red asked, crossing his arms with a deep frown.

"The last thing I'd do is take her away from you, Irken. You and I might have our differences, but she's still your daughter, and you're her father. That bond is stronger than anything else. It can tangle into knots, tense up or whatever you think of, but it will _never_ break." Blue glared at Red with slit pupils. "Even if I had every single reason to hate you, I'd never even think of cutting you off from your child."

Red felt a shiver down his spine when he felt Blue's slit pupils focus on him. "What do you mean 'every reason to hate me'? Other than my little… outburst a few minutes ago, I have done nothing to you. Or is this because of the moondrop flower?"

"Of course you wouldn't remember it. The day an Almighty Tallest actually remembers any of the people they've tortured and killed, the universe will blow up on itself." Blue sighed, averting his gaze. "I guess you know this, but two kryvtor assassins were sent to the _Massive_ four years ago. One would kill both you and your co-Tallest, the other would secure Ilk and take her to Sobr."

Oh, _those_ guys. Yeah, usually he had his _PAK_ delete all memories of the alien scum he tortured, but _not_ those two. The younger one met its end at his hands; not to brag, but Red had not lost his edge in combat. It didn't take him long to dispatch of that lizard when it targeted him, but it _did_ help that there were lots of Elites on the bridge at that time. The other one wasn't so lucky; he was kept alive and tortured, his brain scanned to extract as much information about the Sobrekt's military, defenses among other things. It was thanks to it that they had managed to keep toe-to-toe with the Sobrekt in the war. Once he was of no more use he was disposed of.

But he'd never forget how they looked like. Since both turned out to be father and son, they had a similar appearance: golden eyes, bluish gray scales, blue stripes running… Wait a minute. Now that he recalled that event and had Blue in front of him, Red noticed he had a great resemblance to those assassins. Red gaped as he tied the knots. "You-"

"Those were my father and my grandfather," Blue confirmed, closing his eyes shut as if to contain tears. _Fury_ rubbed his head against his shoulder with a comforting purr. "I and my clutch mates had only hatched when they left *****. It was the first and only time I saw them; they never returned, and we both know _why_."

Red's gaze went downwards for a few seconds as he processed what he just learned. "Okay, that's… Weird." He looked up at Blue again. "I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm not. Had I not done what I did to them, neither Ilk or I would be here today. I did what I had to do to protect her."

Blue opened his eyes. "I know. But even if you actually asked for forgiveness, which I know will _never_ happen, I wouldn't give it. Not now."

"Blueguana!" GIR cried at that moment, rushing out of the cave mouth. "Tally! Ilkie is awake!"

Both Red and Blue reacted. "How is she?! Is she alright?!" They unintentionally asked in unison. They exchanged an annoyed look. Red resumed. "Is Ilk alright?!"

"The big hole in her body is gone, like a magic trick! I'm going to look for mushrooms for her!"

"Can we see her?" Blue asked hopefully.

"Oh, that!" GIR became thoughtful. "The nice, half-naked lady said only one at a time should go, she's still hurting."

"I'll go!" Another phrase in unison.

"I am her father and I have priority!"

"You're the last person she'll want to see after you smacked her!"

"I'm not letting you go near her while she's almost _naked_!"

" _One of you just go into the fucking cave already!_ "

Upon hearing Captain's angry shout Blue jumped and clung to Fury's neck, moment Red took advantage of to rush inside.

* * *

When she came back to her senses, Ilk felt sore all over the torso. She found it wrapped in a silkily black bandage, which she recognized as being part of Lena's skirt. At least what was left of it. She found herself partly submerged in comfortably warm water, and realized she was in a thermal water cave.

"Ilk-smeet, you're okay!" A pair of arms wrapped around her neck, sending painful cramps all over her.

"Zim, that hurts!" She cried

"Zim, how about you go fetch something to eat?"

"Anything for Ilk-smeet, doc! Zim shall bring you a tasty treat!" With that Zim was off in an exciting sprint.

"Lena…?"

"Try not to move much, you're still recovering."

"Recovering?" Ilk looked down at her bandaged abdomen. "What happened…?" Lena told her about the injury she had somehow sustained, proved by the bloody stick tossed aside, and how they used a Sobrekt healing method to stimulate her self-regeneration at its fullest. Then she remembered the mendigo, Santa suit fighting it off and then self-destructing itself to kill it; everything after that was a blur. All she could remember was dad holding her, saying she was going to be okay…

"Guess the explosion must have destroyed the trees nearby and one of the biggest splinters ended up flying into your abdomen," Lena concluded as she helped the smeet climb out of the pool and into one of the big, furry blankets to keep her warm while her clothing dried up after a thorough washing to remove the blood.

"Where's everyone else?"

"Well, the Sobrekt and your father are out there waiting for news from you. GIR went to tell them you're awake and Zim… Well, you just saw it." Ilk stiffened at the mention of dad. Lena noticed. "It's… probable Tallest Red will want to talk to you." She had referred to him formally. Ilk guessed she wasn't the only one whose feelings dad had hurt.

"Well, I _don't_ want to talk to him." Ilk muttered bitterly.

"Yes, you do, Ilk," Lena said gently. "At the very least hear what he has to say before judging him."

Both their antenna twitched as hurried footsteps echoed from the tunnel, and seconds later a tall Irken clad in crimson emerged. "Ilk!" Red sighed in deep relief, but it was short lived when Ilk turned away with a 'humph' to glance into the other pools. He was so happy he had forgotten she was mad at him.

"Well, I'll leave you two alone to solve your issues." Lena got on her feet and left without another word. Red couldn't help but feel hurt when she didn't spare him a glance; he'd worry about her later, though. Ilk was his priority right now.

A great part of him wanted to hold her close, but judging by how she shifted to turn her back on him and covered her head with the blanket as he came to sit down next to her he guessed she wouldn't take it kindly. For a long time, neither of them spoke, the only sound in the cave being the running water in the pools and the echo of the water drops falling from the ceiling. It wasn't that they didn't want to say anything, they simply didn't know what to say to break the ice.

Red had never had this problem before; he was naturally outspoken and persuasive despite his lack of vocabulary, which is why he usually was the one who directly dealt with crowds and diplomatic meetings while Purple was more interested in blowing up stuff, executions and snacking around, whatever didn't have to do with large groups of people. Of all the times for his silver tongue to fail him!

Seeing he wouldn't start the 'pending conversation', Ilk took the first word. "...Is Lena mad at you for something?"

"You could say so," Red replied, grateful she had spoken first and not gone straight to the point. "Let's say… Well, I told her something _really_ … Stupid."

"What? Did you also call her a disappointment because she wouldn't do things your way?"

The reminder of what he said stung. "Ilk, I didn't... I didn't mean anything of that, I was just…"

"Angry that someone wasn't doing what you wanted for once."

"No, it's not-!" Red took a deep breath before he could say anything he could later regret for a second time... "It's not just about that. True, I don't like when people outright disobey me, but… your case is different."

"That's what I can't understand, dad!" Ilk finally snapped, finally turning to glare at him. "What's the big deal? You continue to say you want me to be an Invader and yet you try to put me inside a crystal case! I defeated my first enemies yesterday and you got _mad_ when I thought you'd be happy I had learned how to fight!"

Red went silent for a moment, averting his gaze in shame. "I know."

"Why, dad?" Ilk demanded firmly. "It's the one question that keeps running through my head, again and again, and doesn't have an answer. I simply don't understand you no matter how hard I try. _Why_?"

" _I was afraid to lose you_!" Red finally snapped back. He closed his eyes shut and took another deep breath to calm himself down. "Ilk, you're my _only_ child. Ever since you came into my life you became the most important thing to me, even more than snacks or my position as Tallest. I wanted to always keep you close and protect you, especially after…" He abruptly stopped.

"After what?" Ilk insisted. She wasn't going to let him slip out of this.

This was it. He couldn't avoid this anymore. She would never understand his motives if she didn't know the full story. Red inhaled deeply and proceeded to tell her what transpired four years ago when the indokuro infiltrated the _Massive_ and tore a leg off her. As he spoke he noted ilk's expression shifting from angry to shocked. She glanced down at one of her legs as if expecting it to be gone.

Ilk couldn't believe it. This meant she _had_ seen an indokuro before, and it had almost killed her. No wonder she had been so afraid of Fury at first, or why she felt like she had seen him before. This meant all those nightmares of the monster that haunted her as a smeet… it was a memory, repressed by her subconscious and unknowingly aided by dad to protect her psyche from the traumatic experience. Ilk ran a hand on her leg, the limb she had supposedly lost and regrown.

Then dad _had_ known about her… ability.

"I made you think it was only a nightmare, both the Indokuro and the assassin attacks," Red continued after a long moment of silence. "You wanted to know why I confined you to the _Massive_ , why I overprotected you, that's why," Another deep breath. "Ilk… when the indokuro tore your leg _right_ _in_ _front_ _of me_ while you were in my arms, I felt... helpless. I was afraid to death that you'd suffer the same fate as Miyuki did…" Bringing _her_ into the conversation would have torn his squeedly-spooch if emotional wounds could bleed. "When Miyuki died, I wanted to die with her. I _almost_ did. How do you think I would have felt if something happened to _you_?"

Red took the following silence from Ilk as a sign to continue. "I _didn't_ want to be in such a situation again, in which I lost someone I loved because I wasn't able to protect them. I was _desperate_ to avoid that… to the point of exaggeration."

"It still doesn't explain your obsession with me being an Invader despite all of that you just described," Ilk said, calmly this time, but hurt. "If you were so afraid of losing me, why did you want me in _that_ job? It is the perhaps the most dangerous position in the Empire. I would have been on a hostile planet with thousands of enemies."

"That's a bit more… personal." Red said awkwardly. He wiped some sweat off his brow. "You already know this, but in my youth I was-"

"The best Invader of your generation, I know, I've heard it countless times," Ilk finished for him. "Let me guess, you simply wanted me to follow in your footsteps?"

"Well… Yes and no." How was he supposed to explain it? Damn, it sounded easier in his head. "I _would_ have liked my smeet to be an Invader because I was one, that's right, but I realized there's more to that. If you had been the best Invader, then the Empire would have praised _me_ too for being your teacher, and everyone would have said how much alike you were to _me_." Red sighed, ashamed. "It pains me to admit it, but… I think… the _actual_ reason is… In a way, I would have been reliving my own glory days, back in the praise and admiration of those who follow me."

Ilk's expression was unreadable. Seconds later she spoke again. "Dad, you are the Tallest. You receive praise and admiration almost every day. Heck, all the Irkens in the Massive are close to kissing the ground you hover above of and many often fight for being thrown out of the airlock by you if only to have a bit of your attention."

"There's something more, Ilk," Red inhaled. "A few days ago, after you... Stormed out of the Control Brains' chamber, you left them a not-very-good impression," the very memory caused him to shift uncomfortably. "They called you a _defective_. They said that if you didn't 'correct your behavior you'd have to be… _put down_."

Those two words sent shivers down Ilk's spine as she stared at her father, agape. "Wh-? B-But… You're kidding, right? They c-can't…!"

"They _can_ and they _will_ if you give them a reason to do so, Ilk. I already told you before, not even _I_ can do anything about their rulings," Red gave his daughter a serious look. "Do you see now why I kept insisting? There were selfish reasons, that's right, but I was trying to save your life as well."

Ilk sighed and lay her head on the furry blanket, staring up at the ceiling. "There's no way out of it, then..."

"I'm sorry, Ilk…" Red apologized, rubbing the back of his head. "I should have listened to you, but… Don't take me wrong, sweetheart. I love you and I will always be proud of you, regardless of what job you wish to have. I wish I could have seen it sooner, but it's just like you said, it went through one antenna and left through the other." Red gave a humorless chuckle. "As for treating you as a smeet… I think I know where I went wrong. I had trouble accepting you were growing up, and a part of me didn't want you to because I knew eventually you wouldn't need me anymore, so I tried to keep you depending on me, but… now I understand that I won't be able to… protect you forever, that's _why_ you need to experience things by yourself. That way you will be able to face the universe all on your own, and when you do, I want you to know you can still count on me even if you don't want to see me again after what I did."

Ilk took her time to ponder on his words. She sighed a few minutes later. "I don't want you out of my life, dad," Red looked at her, his eyes widening a bit. "I just want you to let me take my own decisions and stop _lying_ to me. I'm _not_ two earth years old, you don't need to hide things from me or try to mellow them out anymore. Besides, you're not the only one to blame," Ilk averted her gaze in shame. "I should have told you how I felt instead of simply keeping things to myself."

"I won't have any of that, Ilk. It was my obligation to listen to you, but I didn't. It took me all of this and a lecture from a fucking Sobrekt to realize how selfish I was even if part of my reasons were good."

"Wait, lecture from...?"

"Captain. He awoke from his hibernation while you were recovering."

Ilk couldn't help it. She laughed. "You mean Captain… lectured you?"

"Just don't tell Purple or he will never let me forget it." Both let out another laugh. "Hey, about Blue…"

"Dad, he's just a friend, I'm-"

"I know, sweetheart. I don't like the idea of an overgrown lizard courting you, but if you eventually _choose_ to accept his affections… It's your life, sweetie," Red gave her a small smile. "I promise you, Ilk, you can always count on me no matter what happens."

He was caught off guard when Ilk leaped forward and hugged him. Red returned the embrace fondly. His fingers found themselves stroking the cheek he had struck a while ago. A wave of regret came over him. He'd never forgive himself for it, but he was happy Ilk had.

He had the feeling Lena's forgiveness wouldn't come as easily, however.

* * *

"Ilk-smeet! Zim has made you some meat!"

Ilk found herself a bit overwhelmed when dad helped her back to the mouth of the cave. First came Fury to lick her face, then GIR offered her some wild mushrooms and Zim brought her roasted sharktopus meat he personally prepared. She was impressed he had apparently overcome his phobia of meat, or perhaps he finally figured out meat from outside Earth didn't hurt him.

Captain, back in his clothing, sighed in relief. "Are you feeling dizzy?".

"A bit…"

"That's normal, your body is getting used to your regenerated tissues, it should wear off in a few hours. Until then, you should take a break and drink lots of water," He pointed at an Earthen-pot. "We melted some snow for you, in fact."

"Thanks, Captain. How about you, everything okay?"

Captain looked away, bristling his spines. Sobrekt had no feather crests like their Kryvtor cousins, instead, the equivalent was the long sharp spikes in their heads, which would also go up when they felt embarrassment. "Other than the… awkward situation between your father and I a while ago, I'm fine." He wasn't talking about him being naked in front of the Irken, of course. He meant their little 'therapy session'.

"Awkward situation?" Ilk looked up to her father curiously, especially when his cheeks turned pink.

Red gulped. "It's something you're not supposed to learn in at least another Irk year." Mental note, erase that image from his _PAK_. While averting his gaze, he noticed a member of their party was missing. "Where's Lena?"

"Outside," Blue said.

"Hey, Irken, what did you tell her? She has been upset since I woke up." Captain asked curiously.

Flirk. "I'm going to check on her."

Captain and Blue saw through the sugar-coating, though the former didn't know exactly what was going on between them. Blue would tell him, and by extension Ilk, about it while Red walked outside. It was oddly calm despite the events from a few hours ago. It would have been a beautiful night if they could see a starry sky and a full moon or two.

Lena was leaning against a tree with a vacant expression. Just like Captain said, she looked upset. Red cleared his throat to call her attention. Lena didn't move. Her antenna twitched when she heard him, but she didn't turn to look at him. "Lena?" No reply. "Can we talk?"

After a few more seconds of awkward silence, Lena sighed. "Do you need anything, My Tallest?"

She referred to him formally again. Usually, that title filled him with pride, but when it came from her in _that_ tone it hurt him. "Lena, I… About what happened…"

"You were _very_ clear, My Tallest. I was starting to take too many liberties and poking my antenna where I wasn't wanted. It won't happen again."

"Lena, please, I… I didn't mean-"

"I'm glad you're here, though. I wanted to let you know that once we get back I'm asking the Control Brains to reassign me to Irk or wherever they decide I'm needed." Lena interrupted.

His squeedly-spooch sunk at the news. She couldn't be serious! Working aboard the _Massive_ was one of the greatest honors in the Irken Empire and she was willing to throw it away just because of an outburst on his part? "Lena, you can't do that!"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Why not? I figured you'd be happy."

"How could you think that?!"

"You made it _very_ clear you don't want me around, My Tallest."

"I didn't mean any of it! I was angry and-!" Red tried to find the right thing to say, but he found himself at loss. "Okay, look, I-I admit it was wrong of me to take it out on you when you were just worried about me! But please, don't go…!" he took a step closer to Lena, but she stepped back, flattening her antenna. "Lena, if you leave the _Massive_ there will be no turning back. Please, don't take that decision just because you're angry at me-"

"Angry?" Lena chuckled humorlessly and turned away, in part to hide her glossy eyes from view "If I were angry at you, we wouldn't be having this conversation, My Tallest. I've merely come to realize that perhaps it's best to put some distance between us. After what happened, you can't just expect things to go back to how they were before. We'd just embitter and be at each other's throats all the time, and that's not healthy for either of us." This time Lena turned completely around. "And frankly, I wouldn't be like to be thrown out of the airlock."

"Wha-? Lena, I would never throw _you_ out of the airlock!"

Lena slowly turned her head around, frowning and narrowing her eyes. "Why not? I'm just a _medical drone_ , aren't I? You can just find another one to replace me."

Remembering the stupid thing he had said stung. In desperation, Red stepped forward, turned Lena around and grabbed her by the arms. "I don't want just any other doctor, Lena! I want the doctor who has been with me through this entire mess! I want the doctor who saved both my life and Ilk's not once, but twice! I want _you_!"

A pin could have fallen and made a long echo. Cyan and red locked gazes, the former wide in utter shock, the latter pleading. For a brief moment Red hoped she'd relent, but Lena's features changed into an angry grimace and she released herself from his grip. "What are you playing at?!" she growled. "First you make me think you actually like me, then you show your true opinion of me and now you act as if you cared?"

"I _do_ care about you, Lena! I didn't mean any of those horrible things, I just-! Try to put yourself in my shoes-!"

"Did _you_ put yourself in _mine_? Do you have any idea of how I felt when you treated me with undue harshness after what I did for you?"

"I'm trying to tell you how sorry I am-!"

"That's the issue here, My Tallest. You can't just break a heart and expect that a simple apology will fix the scattered pieces," Lena wiped some loose tears that ran down her cheeks. "In time you'll see this will be best in the long run." She started walking over towards the mouth of the cave, but a hand on her forearm stopped her again.

"Lena, please…" His voice was pleading again. It made Lena's own squeedly-spooch squirm. It was almost enough to crack the wall.

No. She wouldn't fall for it again. Lena pulled her arm out of the grip, but this time offered no words as she rushed back into the cave without turning back. She didn't want him to see her cry.

* * *

"You should write a book, you know. 'How to hurt a woman's feelings in three minutes or less'."

" _Captain_."

Lena had come back a few minutes after Red went to 'check on her', but judging by how she ran past the fire and further into the cavern he guessed it didn't go well. Red coming to sit down by the fire with a sad, guilt-ridden expression confirmed it. Ilk wanted to go after her, but Blue convinced her to leave her be for now. Meanwhile, Captain proceeded to tease Red despite Ilk's protests.

"Surely she'll get over it, My Tallest," Zim tried to sound assuring. "Here, have some meat!"

"It's not that simple, mastaah!" GIR said. "When girls get hurt, they take a looong time in forgiving! You could try giving her some flowers!" That said he held out a bouquet of bacon tied in stems.

"GIR, you're not helping!"

"Unfortunately he's right, _hitorken_ Zim," Captain added with a shrug. "Women are like armored stekogs: if they get hurt, they curl up into a tight ball and won't come out no matter how much you try to sweet-talk them into it."

Red momentarily wondered if he should ask what a stekog was, but in the end, decided not to. Probably another Hybrekt. "So I should just give it up?"

"Of course not, Irken! That would just prove her right that you don't actually care!"

"You just said-!"

"You really don't know anything about women, do you?" Captain shook his head. "You can't sweet-talk a stekog into lowering its guard, you must show it you are no threat. For that, you have to sit down next to it for days, until it realizes you're not going to hurt it and uncurls out of its own accord."

"What do stekog-things have to do with anything?!"

"You're missing the point; be perseverant. What the doc wants is that you _show_ her that you, in fact, _care_ enough to try and make things up even if she doesn't want you around for the next two weeks. Actions speak louder than words, just look at Blue."

"Captain…!" Blue's crest bristled; especially when Red frowned at him and Ilk hid her head in the fur blanket. Thank the ancestors the vortpad rung at that moment. "They're calling us, perhaps the ship is ready!" He pressed the button. "Masouri-?"

Instead of him or any of the others, however, the screen showed Purple, Dib and Echo tied up in thick ropes with two Hothian soldiers standing next to them, pointing their guns at their heads.

" _Greetings, friends_ ," Iraa walked into view, spreading out in an almost welcoming manner. The rest gathered around Blue upon hearing his voice. " _I'm glad you are all safe._ "

"You bastard, let them go!"

"I demand you release Tallest Purple at once!"

"Echo, are you okay?!"

" _Am I painted on the wall or something_?" Dib blurted out with an undignified humph.

" _If you wish to know about the ship that brought you here, I will let you know that it's almost fixed. Sadly, since your friends here misbehaved quite a bit, we had to take a little… incentive so the job would be finished by tomorrow. When we do so, we'll be out of this gods-forsaken planet once and for all."_

"Where is everybody else?!" Ilk asked.

" _They are safe, as long as they cooperate from now on. As for you, gentlemen, you've been a thorn in my side for a bit too long._ "

"If you're talking about the guys you sent after us, you had it coming," Captain snarled. "Planning on sending more? Go on ahead, send out all your troops, we'll be glad to cut off more heads!" Red winced. Again with the beheading stuff!

" _Actually, I'd like to save us more unnecessary bloodshed. I have a… proposition in mind for you._ "

Zim crossed his arms. "Proposition?"

" _Come to the base tomorrow at dawn and we can come to an agreement. We don't have to fight over the ship when we could join forces to escape. It's what you want, isn't that right?_ "

" _Red, Ilk, don't! It's a- HMMMF!"_ Purple was silenced with a thick cloth gag for a second time that day.

"Purple!" Red snatched the vortpad from Blue. "If you put a hand on him, I swear-!"

" _No harm will come to them if you do as I ask, gentlemen. We shall be expecting you tomorrow at the accorded time. Fail to comply, and the consequences could be… disastrous._ " The transmission ended.

"Son of a-!" Captain didn't get to finish the sentence, instead of letting the broken pieces of the rock that once stood in front of him talk for him.

"He will pay for daring to silence one of the Almighty Tallest! Zim shall rain down doom upon his white head!"

"Don't you think he _really_ wants to solve things peacefully?"

"Ilk-smeet, don't let that fool trick you! He wants us all together in one place so he can dispose of us and then steal the ship!"

"Just try to look at it from his perspective. Most of his species perished, they aren't far from suffering the same fate, and they have a chance to escape and start over from somewhere."

"I agree with _hitorken_ -Zim, if they wanted to solve this 'peacefully' they wouldn't have attacked and made us captives. They would have just asked for help." Blue crossed his arms.

"Would we have actually done it had they asked?" Ilk countered. "We had low resources ourselves. Would we have been willing to share it with a group of complete strangers just because they have a sob story or would we have put our own survival beforehand?" Nobody could argue with _that_. Neither Irkens nor Sobrekt would waste precious rations out of generosity. Self-preservation came before anything in these situations.

"I don't think he'd kill us all off. The Hothians won't have any idea of how to fly the _Ibris_ , they will need someone to do so."

GIR has said nothing for the first part of the argument. Then his eyes turned red again. " **Sires, if you'd allow me, I have come up with a strategy…** "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Both a word in the Sobrekt vocabulary and rank in their military. Lit. meaning 'indokuro tamer', the term is used to refer to individuals who train an indokuro.
> 
> *Ilk's age in human years nine years old, which means she hasn't even reached the first Irken year of life, age on which she will be sent to the Academy. This means she's technically a child in Irken standards.
> 
> *Blue is four Sobr years old, but Sobrekt reach the teen/adult stages very quickly. The baby stage lasts 6 months, the childhood two years, and the teenage stage lasts one year. Blue is biologically and mentally older than Ilk, not to mention one Sobr year equals more years than an Irk year, and that's something. I still gotta figure that out, though.
> 
> Next Chapter: A final confrontation with the Hothians is at hand as both parties reunite.


	18. Last Stand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, everybody, we're reaching the end of this story in two more chapters. So far, I can say this is the longest one written. I had to make different drafts because I thought the first version was a bit too anticlimactic until it resulted in this one. I hope you enjoy it, because it took me about five drafts. XD.

Despite the thick cloud layers blocking out the sun and making it difficult to tell the time of the day, the Hothians could tell when it was night or day with whatever little sunlight came through. They had years to get used to this, after all. So at the Hothian equivalent of dawn, Iraa and his men stood just outside their base, waiting for escaped captives to arrive. They'd come for their friends' aid without a doubt, not to mention the only way off the planet was in their power.

" _Anything yet?_ " He asked one of the scouts looking out for any signs of life.

" _Nothing, sir,_ " was the reply. " _Are you sure you don't want to go looking for them_?"

" _They_ will _come to us. Besides, we can't afford to have more losses._ " There were less than a hundred of them left, and not many of them were women. If they wanted to eventually rebuild their civilization somewhere else they needed to repopulate. Those intruders had already cost him a team of 30 men.

" _Wait, sir, there's something moving through the trees_!"

* * *

"This is a bad idea."

"It's the best shot we got, so it's worth the risk."

"You do realize we're putting all our cards on a strategy made by a malfunctioning SIR unit?"

"He was on the famous 'duty mode' when it happened. Besides, hitorken Zim and _Fury_ are with him."

" _That's_ the problem."

"Be quiet, you two! We're almost there…!"

Blue was the first to emerge from the tree line, followed by Captain, Red, Lena and finally Ilk. Blue was waving a small piece of furry blanket tied to a long stick as a 'peace flag' of some sort. "Don't shoot, it's supposed to be a surrender!" He called out just in case the Hothians didn't get it. They didn't have any white fabric to make a proper one, after all.

The Hothians surrounded them, still pointing at them with their spears and guns. Red contained the urge to pull Ilk behind him, but she stepped close to him on her own accord. Lena, on the other hand, stood her ground with a serious expression.

One of the soldiers pointed out they were completely weaponless. When asked, they claimed they had lost them when crossing a lake.

"Okay, we are here, where are our friends?" Ilk asked as Iraa came closer.

"All in due time, Miss," He said absentmindedly. He looked at the party of five. "There were seven of you, I believe. Where are the black monster, the robot, and that other Irken?"

"They were killed by a mendigo."

Iraa exchanged a confused look with another soldier. "A what?"

Red groaned. "Don't start."

"The big furry beast with the large horns." Captain resumed.

"Ah, yes. The gwat. Cannibalistic tendencies," Iraa offered a small, polite grin. "You must be freezing to the bone. Please come inside."

It wasn't like they had any choice. As they were escorted inside, Red and Captain took a quick glance at the structure. It had signs of the Hothians stone building but mixed with debris pieces of all the ships that previously fell here. Perhaps it wouldn't be that hard to tear them down, all they'd need was a good amount of brute force…

"I apologize for the mess, but we haven't had a chance to clean up," Iraa commented as they passed through the broken remains of a dining hall.

"I can see that," Red muttered. "Where are you taking us?"

"You wanted to see your friends, didn't you?"

The group was led to a thick, but half-rusty, iron cell door, opened quickly by one of the soldiers. Inside the cell were Purple, Dib, and Echo. Just like last night, they were tied up together, but this time they were additionally gagged. "Purple!"

The three whipped towards them and tried to cry something out, but all that came out were muffled yells. Red and Captain were the first to enter the cell to remove the rags.

"IT'S A TRAP!"

It was too late. Before they knew what was happening, Blue had been abruptly pushed into the cell as the door was quickly slammed shut and locked. Lena and Ilk, on the other hand, were pulled backward and held back by two soldiers.

"ILK! LENA!" Red forgot all about Purple and ran to the door. "You bastard!"

Iraa stepped in front of the door. "Let's say it's a little... leverage in case you try something funny." He said casually.

Purple joined Red. "Bastard, leave my niece out of this!"

Lena decided to try a more... diplomatic approach before either Tallest said something stupid. "Look… Iraa, right? All you want is to get off the planet. We do too. We could come to an agreement, just like you suggested, we could take you with us if you just let us go-"

Iraa chuckled as he turned to the captive Irkenette. "And then what? You imprison us or make us slaves? We might not know much about what's out there, but we know enough of the Irken Empire to figure out that's the fate that would await us."

"Hey, if you guys have never left this planet how can do you know that?" Ilk asked curiously.

"Well, one of the ships that crashlanded here belonged to people with long horns-"

"Vortians."

"What?"

Red rolled his eyes. "They are called Vortians, you ignorant caveman."

Iraa frowned. "Who asked you?"

"You just did."

"How about us? We're not Irkens, we're-"

"Sobrekt." Iraa finished Blue's sentence for him. "You'll probably cut off our heads and put them on pikes ***** as trophies."

"Well, you're not completely wrong about the 'head-cutting part," Red muttered. The image of that last fight with the Hothian soldiers was still fresh in his _PAK_ -memory.

"The point is we don't trust either of your people!" Iraa finally snapped. "What we want is to leave this place as soon as possible to start over somewhere else. As you probably noticed, our homeworld is no longer habitable. Sooner or later what little life is left will succumb, and my people will go extinct-"

"Bla, bla, blah, you've repeated that about a hundred times already!" Purple snapped impatiently.

Iraa rubbed his temples. Seconds later he regained his composure. "Enjoy your accommodations, because you will be staying here for a _long_ time." That was the last thing he told them before he walked away with the rest of the soldiers, dragging the two helpless Irkenettes along.

"I SWEAR, YOU BASTARD, IF YOU LAY A SINGLE HAND ON EITHER OF THEM, I'LL HUNT YOU AND YOUR MEN DOWN WITH ALL THE WEIGHT OF THE IRKEN EMPIRE, YOU HEAR ME?!"

"Oh, a threat, how _brilliant_. They'll surely let us out now, especially after you just proved them _right,_ " Dib rolled his eyes sarcastically. "I'd clap my hands, but I'm still tied up."

Oh, right, they were still tied up. "Purple, are you okay?!" Red asked when he was done untying his co-Tallest.

"No, I'm not okay! I'm hungry, cold, Ilk and Lena were just taken and my mouth tastes like Skoodge's socks!" Purple wiped his mouth with his gauntlet and growled in pain. "Oh, and those savages shot my leg!".

Red took a quick look at it. "You're exaggerating, it's just a minor burn, you acquired worse injuries in the Academy."

"What were you thinking, just handing yourselves over like that?" Echo asked. Then she noticed the three missing party members. "Where is _Fury_? And _Hitorken_ Zim and his robot?"

"Echo has a point. Please tell me Zim was eaten by some beast!"

Red sighed and patted Purple's shoulder. " _Almost_. But as you know, he seems to be unkillable."

"Flirk it."

Captain took it from there. "Long story short, the _SIR_ unit came up with a not so bad strategy. If all goes well, they'll be arriving soon to rescue us."

"You mean to tell me we're depending on Zim _and_ his defective robot to save our asses?" Purple's eye was twitching.

"That's _exactly_ what I told them." Red frowned at Blue and Captain.

"We'll be lucky if he doesn't blow this place up with us _inside_." Dib agreed.

Captain sighed. "Instead of criticizing everything _Hitorken_ Zim does, don't you think we should try to get out of here ourselves in case something goes wrong?"

"Good luck with that," Echo sighed. "The lock is an electronic one and you need a keycard to open the door. Plus the bars are made of unbreakable steel. So unless you have a mini-drone you can send to retrieve a keycard, there's not much we can do."

_Rawr!_

All heads turned to the doorway, where a tiny black hatchling stood. As soon as it spotted Purple it chirped in delight, walked through the bars and ran towards him to climb into his lap.

Captain and Blue exchanged a shocked glance and turned to Echo, who confirmed their suspicions with a nod.

"Where did that come from?" Red asked curiously.

"Remember the indokuro egg?"

"No way!" Purple nodded and started scratching the hatchling under the chin.

Dib stared at the hatchling, then at the door. "Wait, if that thing fit through the bars, couldn't he bring us the keycard?" Right! Indokuros were supposed to be very smart.

"Hate to burst your balloon, but that takes months of training and he's just hatched, he has no idea what is what just yet," Blue said.

"Any better ideas?" Red asked, and was met with silence. "Then it's worth a shot."

Purple lifted the hatchling off his lap and placed him on the floor in front of him. "Okay, little one, bring us a keycard." The hatchling blinked in confusion. "Keycard. Something that looks like this." Purple made. A rectangular shape with his fingers. The hatchling chirped and left through the same way he had come from.

A few minutes late he returned with a tissue box. The captives sighed in dismay. This was going to take a while.

* * *

"How long until we're done here?"

Masouri rolled his eyes with a snort. "As I told you _two minutes ago_ , Bob, I need a little more time."

"That's something we don't have! If we don't finish this they're going to hurt Tallest Purple!" Tenn cried out in dismay.

"What do you complain about? I'm the one doing all the work here!"

"Hey, who's passing you the tools!"

Masouri couldn't really blame them for being on edge, considering their leader was taken. He was also worried about Echo. If these men hurt her, he wouldn't be held accountable for his actions! Besides, there was no way he'd surrender his _Ibris_ to them! Luckily, he had that covered if they tried to leave with it...

"How long, lizard?" One of the Hothians guards supervising them asked.

"Just for the record, I'm nearly done with the metal coating but it still doesn't guarantee it will work-"

" _How long_?"

Geez, what a temper. "Five minutes."

Once the guard went away. Larb muttered. "So what? We fix this… The ship," he was wise enough not to call the _Ibris_ with any degrading words. The last time he did Masouri didn't take it well. "And then? We just let them take it?"

"Of course not, Irken. I already got a plan."

"Well, mind sharing it with us?"

Foxtrot chuckled evilly as he typed some code into a nearby screen. "You will see."

Five minutes later Masouri made the finishing touches on the power core and the engine. A trembling hand gripped the power lever. It was now or never. He pulled it down. All lights within the _Ibris_ flickered as the engine and the power core roared and screeched back into life. Before they could celebrate their success, however, the guards came into the engine room and started leading them outside the ship with their spears. Once outside, long plasma guns were raised at their heads.

"Are you kidding me? We fix that thing and we don't even get a _thank you_?" Stink asked.

"What did I tell you? We outlived our usefulness, so they're getting rid of us."

"Any ideas, Irken?"

Before the Hothians could pull the trigger an excited yell coming from above caught their attention. Something made of metal fell on top of one, causing him to accidentally shoot one of his comrades.

The prisoners didn't hesitate in taking advantage of the distraction; within seconds Larb, Tenn, Stink, and Foxtrot had launched themselves at their captors. Meanwhile, Masouri and Skoodge ran towards the _Ibris_ so the former could open a hatch with a console in the lounge. Masouri quickly typed in a code.

_**Activating security systems…** _

" _ **Danger! Intruders detected!**_ "

The ship's plasma cannons emerged and started shooting at any Hothian within range. Foxtrot barely had time to jump out of the way, dragging Tenn along, just as one of the plasma projectiles exploded against its target.

"What the-?!" Larb cried as the metal thing from before pushed him out of the way of another plasma ball.

"I love you!" GIR said happily, wrapping his arms around the Invader's waist.

Before long all the Hothians were blown up or retreated. As they barricaded all the doors, Bob shouted. "What just happened?!"

" _ **You're welcome for saving your scaleless asses, Irkens!**_ " That voice was coming from the _Ibris_ , and it almost sounded like Masouri's.

"So _this_ was your plan? Activating the personality interface?" Tenn asked. Masouri nodded with a toothy grin. Tenn smirked. "Not bad."

"Could somebody get this thing off me?!" Larb tried and failed to get rid of GIR's hold unto his leg.

"Isn't that Zim's defective SIR?" Stink asked.

"What makes you think that? The fact that it's annoying?!"

"Wait a minute, if he's here, it must mean Zim and the others must be too, right?"

"Hey, GIR, how did you get here?"

GIR finally released Larb's leg. "Oh, right! The big grumpy iguana said I should bring you these toys!" He opened his head compartment. All the sobrekt's blades were inside. How did all these fit in GIR's small head, nobody knew. "Mastah should be back soon with a mutant Bambee too!"

"What about Ilk, Tallest Red and doctor Lena?" Skoodge asked.

"And Captain and Blue?" Foxtrot added, putting the last crate in front of the door.

"They're having a party with the grey men, but before that, I was supposed to bring this toys so you could play with the other grey men not invited to the party! Oh, and the grumpy iguana also said something about getting ready to go!"

"In that case, I want the big one." Larb tried to pick up the _Nekusarai_ , but it turned out to be incredibly heavy. And yet somehow GIR could move around with that weight?!

* * *

Okay, Zim, remember the plan. Look for a mendigo and bring it back to the base ASAP. It couldn't be that hard, right? It seemed like he had a knack for attracting the creatures, judging by how often they had caused trouble. Big deal, how hard could it be? He had single-handedly defeated one already. And one of his creations had dispatched another. Zim the mendigo-slayer had a good ring to it, didn't it?

 _Fury_ stopped to sniff the air. "What is it, _Fury_ -beast? Did you find any?"

The indokuro ran across the forest and into a snowy field with numerous piles of bones. Must be going in the right direction. Okay, if this is the 'dining hall', then the lair must be nearby. _Fury_ continued to sniff the air, looking for the familiar scent of rot and blood. He didn't have to look for long; a few meters into the forest they found a formation of rocks that formed a cave, echoing with a snoring sound from within.

"Okay, _Fury_ -beast, this is the plan: you wake him up and I'll stay here waiting for it!"

Fury snorted with half-closed eyelids.

"Silence! I was put in charge of the assignment, so you will do as I say!"

The snoring from within the cave turned into grumbling and growling. Zim thought he saw a shape moving inside. And since _Fury_ seemed to have no intention to go inside... Damn, if you want something right, do it yourself. "You know, _Fury_ -beast, in case Zim doesn't come back, would you mind telling the Tallest to avenge me?"

 _Fury_ snorted. Was it supposed to be a reassurance? Zim gulped internally but nevertheless tried to keep his confident facade as he stepped into the cavern. It was _very_ dark in there. A good thing his ocular implants were equipped with night vision. Zim blinked and sent a mental command to his _PAK_ to activate it.

As he imagined, the cave was dry and rocky, but there was no sign of the mendigo yet. The growling was still there, however. It was coming right from underneath him... Zim looked down.

Outside the cave, _Fury_ had taken to making little senseless shapes on the snow with his claw when he heard a scream coming from within the cavern. Seconds later Zim ran out of it and into the woods, followed by a group of about six mendigos.

 _Fury_ rolled his eyes with a snort and ran after them.

* * *

"I'm starting to doubt this thing's intelligence."

Over the next twenty minutes, the hatchling had brought lots of useless items. Pieces of metal, glasses, sponges, dining utensils and even a piece of underwear belonging to any of the Hothians. *****

Red finally exploded. "We need a fucking keycard, mini- _Fury_! KEYCARD!"

"What did I tell you? He doesn't know what is what yet." Blue was rubbing his temples. He was starting to wish _Fury_ had come with them. "Think GIR already got to the others with the weapons?"

"If he didn't eat them, perhaps he has." Hopefully.

Red noticed Purple was taking a closer look at the lock. "Pur, what are you…?"

"This lock is electromagnetic."

"What?"

"If we don't have the keycard, we could short-circuit this and render it useless. Some static will do…" Purple ignored Red and looked around. His eyes came to rest on Captain and Dib. "What fabric are your clothes made of?"

"Frikelth with polymerized mytrilium alloy." Captain said.

"Leather," Dib said.

"Captain, may I borrow your scarf? Thanks. Dib-hyooman, I need your jacket for a little while. Don't worry, I'll give it back unscathed." _Hopefully_.

With the two pieces of clothing in hand, Purple went back to the cell door, wincing every time he stepped unto his hurt leg. He brought the fabrics together and started rubbing them quickly and applying considerable pressure. A few seconds later he got the reaction he wanted: the tiny spark that formed touched the lock and it started peeling in blue. The door went limp as the lock deactivated.

"Did you just think of this on your own?" Red asked.

Purple smirked. "Don't forget who had the highest scores in knowledge tests in the Academy."

"Oh, right, our living encyclopedia."

"I hate to interrupt, but we should go back to the hangar." Echo stepped in with a frown. "We have a ship to get back to."

Captain cracked his knuckles. "And Hothians to deal with. Which way, Irken?"

Purple blinked. "Hey, just because I broke us out doesn't mean I know my way around here."

"You go back to the hangar if you wish, I'm going to save Ilk and Lena."

"I'll go with you."

Red frowned at Blue. "I don't need your help."

"That's curious, in case you forgot you don't have weapons anymore and you lack experience in melee combat."

"For your information-!"

"Put your pride aside for once, Irken! You're still recovering from that wound and you don't have any weapons right now." Captain interrupted before it could escalate. He ignored Purple's inquiry about what wound he was walking about and said. "Besides, you'll need all the help you can get right now."

Red stared at Captain with a deep frown for a few more seconds before sighing. "Fine." He glanced at Blue. "Lead the way, then."

As the two ran down the corridor in the opposite direction, the hatchling tugged unto Purple's robe with his teeth, almost as if trying to lead him somewhere. "I think _Donut_ wants us to follow."

"If that thing couldn't tell a _simple_ keycard from a tissue box, what makes you think he won't end up leading us into the Hothians' mess hall right during their lunch break?" Dib pointed out.

"If he could find Tallest Purple all the way here, he probably remembers the way back to the _Ibris_ , especially since he hatched there." Echo said.

"What do we lose with trying? If we do run into some Hothians, we'll just take their weapons." Captain said.

"Okay, then." Purple patted the hatchling's head. "Show us the way, _Donut_."

The hatchling led the group through the strangely empty corridors. They only ran into one or two guards, who were quickly dispatched and their weapons taken. The Sobrekt graciously let Purple and Dib handle the plasma guns: they'd rather fight with their bare claws and teeth. Purple's leg slowed them down considerably until Captain lost his patience and picked him up bridal style, to the embarrassment of both; the Irken leader protested at first until he realized he didn't have to walk anymore.

Soon they found why the security was so... sloppy. Apparently, something had happened at the ship with the 'other prisoners', and all available soldiers were to break into the hangar and subdue them again.

At least that part of the plan had gone well.

* * *

"I need a hand over here!" Bob screamed when Foxtrot came running to the door and bit off the hand that had managed to make a hole through the wooden door. It fell to the ground while its owner retreated what was left of his arm with agonizing yells. "I DIDN'T MEAN IT LITERALLY!"

"Sorry." Foxtrot apologized sheepishly, but he didn't regret it a bit.

"Masouri, how long till we can take off?!"

" _ **I need time to warm up, plus my engines and power core must get used to all that Hothian substances!**_ " The _Ibris_ responded instead.

"They asked _me_!" Masouri growled at it, offended.

" _ **Technically we're one and the same given that I'm**_ **your** _ **downloaded personality**_."

"Whose idea was that?!"

" _Yours_." Both Foxtrot and the ship said simultaneously.

"Would you knock it off?! We're kind of trying to keep these guys out if you don't mind!" Stink placed another chair in front of the door.

Most of the doors had been barricaded with whatever was at hand. Even with the weapons, they were outnumbered, plus they needed to wait until… something happened. GIR didn't specify what, only that the others would catch up soon when a certain another part of the 'plan' was carried out by Zim.

"GIR, I need a little help here!"

"Do you have my taquitos?"

Skoodge let out a groan. "I'll give you all the taquitos you want if you grab that chair and bring it here!"

"Okaaay!" GIR effortlessly lifted the nearest desk and threw it at the door. Skoodge barely had time to jump out of the way just as the furniture pierced through the door. Judging from the painful screams coming from the other side, it seemed like it had knocked out all the soldiers on the other side.

"What in the ancestor's name?!"

That voice… It was coming from the corridor, alongside many others. They sounded familiar. Then a tiny black hatchling slid in through the wreckage.

"Will somebody remove this thing?!"

"Tallest Purple!" The Invaders left what they were doing and started removing the desk's remains from the doorway, clearing the way for the Tallest to come in... in Captain's arms. Dib and Echo followed suit.

Purple glared at the Invaders when he noted they were staring at him agape. "Not a single word of this to _anyone_ or I'll personally throw all of you out of the airlock once we're back on the _Massive_ , am I clear?"

The Invaders nodded. "Crystal clear!"

"Good." Captain put him back on the ground. "That put aside, status!"

"Almost ready to go, My Tallest!" Larb saluted. "The ship only needs to warm up its engines!"

" _ **My name is the**_ **Ibris,** _**you talking mantis.**_ "

Purple jumped back unto Captain's arms. "What the-? Did that thing just talk?!"

"Personality interface." Blue resumed.

"Hey, where's _Hitorken_ Zim?" Foxtrot asked upon noticing he was missing.

"And _Fury_ and Blue?"

"And Tallest Red, Lena, and Ilk? Weren't they with you?"

"They'll be here soon, hopefully. Until then, prepare to hold your ground for as long as you can!" Captain snapped, unceremoniously dropping Purple to the ground. " _Ibris_ , how long until your engines are ready to go?"

" _ **Twenty minutes and counting, if you'd stop interrupting me**_!"

Geez, here they thought the Hothians had a bad temper.

* * *

The two irkenettes were taken to the 'command room'-though judging by the poor state of the computers and machinery, it wasn't much to brag about-and tied up to two chairs while being looked after by two soldiers. Minutes later one of the camera feeds showed GIR falling into the soldiers about to execute Skoodge, Bob and the others and Masouri activating the _Ibris_ 's personality interface, which in turn attacked the soldiers with its cannons.

Iraa smashed his fist on the console and started barking orders in Hothian through the speakers. All the soldiers in the room, minus the two watching Ilk and Lena, ran out of the command room, probably to join the rest to recapture the 'prisoners'. Iraa started pacing around the room, muttering things in his native language.

"Lena?"

"What is it?"

"I'm scared." Ilk started coughing again. It was becoming hard to breathe.

"Don't worry, I'll think of something..." Damn it, if only she could use her _PAK_ tools... Wait a minute. She couldn't access her normal tools, but she could take the rudimentary knife she kept for these situations. Lena glanced warily at the two guards. One was a female. Lena couldn't help but notice she was keeping her gaze on Iraa.

"Excuse me, could I get some water?"

The male soldier grumbled and walked off to a side, probably to look for some water, which the jerk drank himself. Still, Lena took advantage of the moment to quickly take a small knife off one of her _PAK_ compartments. She quickly started cutting the ropes tying her hands.

"Lena...!" Ilk whispered and glanced up at one of the cameras feeds of the corridors just as Blue and Red swiftly passed by. If they could distract Iraa long enough so he wouldn't see them coming... "Why are you doing this, Iraa? It doesn't have to come to this. We can still come to an agreement-"

"Do I have to repeat it again?" Iraa growled calmly, turning away from the camera just in time as Red and Blue stopped at an intersection and looked like they were arguing. Probably about which way to go. Lena contained the urge to roll her eyes. "I will not risk my people by trusting an Irken or a Sobrekt."

"I'm not denying my people can be... well, 'conquery', but I can help you! My father and my uncle are the leaders of the Irken Empire, if you let us go I can talk to them-!"

"Right, and six months later they go back on their word and decide to destroy us anyway. I'm pretty sure you heard him threatening me back there, didn't you?"

"Tallest Red sometimes has a big mouth, but he doesn't tend to keep his promises," Lena added quickly before Iraa could turn around. It wasn't a complete lie. He _did_ have a big mouth.

Now he glared at her. "You just proved my point, miss." With a sigh he turned back to the cameras; thankfully Red and Blue had vanished by then down the left corridor. "For years I could do nothing but watch as our people, our culture, our very lives withered little by little... Our hopes of leaving being smashed every time a ship crashed and became inoperable.

"But then we got this strange message, promising us a means to escape and start anew. All we had to do was to make sure the two tall ones didn't make it off the planet."

Lena and Ilk exchanged a look. "Wait, what?"

Before Iraa could say anything else, the door was blown open. "You idiot, I told you to do it subtly!"

"Where's the fun in that, your Tallest?"

Lena took advantage of the distraction to finish cutting the rest of the rope. Blue dashed into the room and non-fatally knocked Iraa aside with a swipe of his claws. Lena got to her feet, and with a strength she didn't know she had punched the male soldier right on the jaw, sending him to the ground. Her hand was hurt and she _might_ have a few joints out of place, but it was worth it to vent out a bit.

In the corner of the eye, she caught movement. The female Hothian was going to take out her gun and... Lena quickly realized what her intentions were. Blue and Red wouldn't be able to reach Ilk in time. In an impulse, Lena ran towards the soldier and tackled her to the ground. The two females wrestled on the ground for control of the gun until a shot echoed within the room.

Lena stared down in shock as she felt her abdomen wettening, brought up her hand and saw the silver blood stained on it. The Hothian female lay on the ground beneath her, unmoving and with an empty gaze.

"Lena, Ilk!" Red stopped right in front of Ilk and held her face up so he could take a look at her. She was pale and looked exhausted. "Ilk, can you hear me?"

"D-d..." Ilk tried to speak but her chest hurt and sent her into another coughing fit.

"Your Tallest, it's the... t-the atmosphere..." Blue started coughing as well. "I'm not sure we can stand much longer..."

Oh, fuck! Red glanced around the room. Two dead Hothians, and Iraa unconscious. Irken pride would have him kill the bastard with his own hands, but his main concern right now was Ilk and Lena's wellbeings. Ilk didn't look like she'd be able to walk. "Lizard, think you could look out for our backs all the way back?"

Blue nodded quickly even though he looked like he'd collapse anytime soon. Red untied Ilk and picked her up. Then he went over to Lena, who was still on top of the Hothian. "Lena, we have to get moving!" He said hardly. Not out of rudeness, but Ilk and Blue didn't look good right now and the last thing he wanted was the latter collapsing and leaving them almost defenseless.

Lena almost jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, bringing her out of the shock. She saw Red's stern, but concerned, eyes staring down at her as he held Ilk in his other arm. Lena forced herself to go into autopilot to avoid having another breakdown; they had no time for that. She got on her feet and nodded solemnly. Her legs and the lower part of her shirt was stained with the female's silvery blood, but locking her gaze with Red's made kept the thought at bay.

Blue sped down the corridor, followed by Red and Lena. It was taking the kryvtor every single fiber of adrenaline in his body to keep up. If he had sweat glands he'd be covered in the bodily fluid right now. Thankfully there weren't many guards around the corridors: what worried him was getting to the hangar, where most of them were probably concentrated to recapture the others.

And his fears proved to be right. Once they got to the hangar it was a complete battlefield; the Irkens had formed a barricade around the _Ibris_ with some crates, exchanging plasma ammunition with the Hothians. Tenn and Larb were the only ones who were fighting out in the open with... were those Masouri's and Foxtrot's weapons?

"Irken, let me take Ilk to the _Ibris_ and you bring Lena," He said. "You won't be able to move quickly through the enemy fire if you are holding her in your arms while having to make sure Lena's behind you." To his surprise Red didn't argue; guess he _could_ put personal issues aside for the sake of Ilk.

"Kryvtor, guard her with your _life_ or I'm tossing you out of the airlock."

Or maybe not.

Blue gingerly took Ilk from her father's arms and broke through the horde of Hothians with a swipe of his claws, narrowly dodging enemy fire as he did so. He ignored the Irkens' cries of surprise as he jumped over their barricade and inside the _Ibris_.

"Lena, stay close to me!" To be sure, Red grabbed the Irkenette's hand tightly and led her through the battlefield.

Lena swore she almost had a squeedly-spooch attack as Red led her right _into the crossfire_. This made the previous battle in the forest where she made her first kill like a walk in the park; that time she actually _had_ something to defend herself with. She tried her best to blindly dodge the flying plasma balls, which now were seemingly aimed at them entirely while keeping up with Red's speed.

"Open up for Tallest Red!" Tenn cried.

Stink and Skoodge quickly did as told, allowing Red and Lena to quickly get past the barricade and rush into the _Ibris_. Both panted heavily, covered in cold sweat. "Are you okay, Lena?"

"I think so..." was the reply.

Red quickly scanned the lounge around for any sign of Ilk. To his surprise he found Captain and the other Kryvtors inside, all of them breathing heavily and coughing every now and then. This explained why they weren't outside beheading Hothians. Their endurance had finally reached its limit. The toxic atmosphere had taken its toll on them for too long.

"What took you so long, Irken?" Captain growled in between coughs.

"Where's Ilk?!" Almost on cue, Purple came out of the elevator, trailed by the mini- _Fury_. He was still limping slightly, but Red managed to see a bandage through the holes in his robe. "Purple-!"

"Ilk is up in the infirmary with the Blue-lizard. I already had the ship run a complete scan on her and give her oxygen," Purple said with notable relief, guessing the question.

Red sighed in deep relief. "How are you feeling?"

"Well, the ship bandaged my leg and applied some painkillers.

"Painkillers for a mere plasma burn? And here I thought Captain was the softie."

Captain responded with a loud, rasping cough.

* * *

With their higher numbers, the knowledge Ilk and both Tallest were safe and sound and raised morale from being reunited, it wasn't hard for the Invaders to hold their ground for as long as they could. The Irkens wanted to leave right then, but the Sobrekt refused to leave without Zim, much to the Tallest's chagrin. However, Tenn was injured and Lena went outside to tend to both her and Skoodge (the latter was having a sort of panic attack).

"How are you feeling?"

"Oh, I'm fine. I'm suffocating in unknown air contaminants, but I'm _fine._ "

"If we could access our _PAK_ tools we would have already wiped them out. Can't you remove the stupid virus already?" Purple raised his hands defensively when the Sobrekt turned to look at him. "What? Do you still think we'd turn on you after what we've been through? I'm hurt!"

"It's not that…" Captain sneezed and turned his head away sheepishly. "We don't have the anti-virus."

Purple swore one of Red's veins was about to explode. " _What?_ "

"Don't look at me like that, we didn't think we'd need it!"

"Are you flirking kidding me?!"

"How was I supposed to know we'd end up in this situation?!"

Purple just sat down and started munching on some doughnuts, sharing a few with the little indokuro as he watched them argue. "These two sound like an old married couple."

The hatchling chirped.

"Yeah, see what I have to put up with?"

Someone cried out from the outside and all sounds stopped. Bob ran into the lounge, looking scared out of his wits. "M-My Tallest, they got Lena!"

Red went pale. It couldn't be… She wouldn't have lowered her guard enough for that to happen… would it? She said she'd be fine!

He heard Iraa shouting. "I'd like to speak with the leader!"

Captain sighed. He'd never forgive himself for this. "Guess that's you, Irken." He furrowed his brow at the surprised look he got in return. "Don't get your hopes up, I'm just in no condition to deal with that rat myself."

"Go on, Red. I'll stay here to watch over the hatchling." Red saw through Purple's sugarcoating, but he couldn't really blame Purple for not wanting any more injuries. Besides, he couldn't move much with that leg. With this in mind, Red made his way outside.

The Invaders were pointing their guns at the soldiers around them, but their worried gazes were on Iraa. He was holding Lena by the neck with one arm, while the other held a gun right to her head. She was pitifully grabbing at his thicker arm in a feeble attempt to loosen his grip on her throat. Iraa seemed to have lost all his previous composure. His eyes were bloodshot and his silver was disheveled. All fake sympathy was gone too.

" _Get off my ship or I'll blow her brains out."_

Masouri cried from within the _Ibris_ that it was _not his ship_. Wow, that kryvtor certainly had a good hearing for his lack of ears. "Let her go and we'll come to an agreement!"

"You think I'm stupid?! I said it before and I repeat it, _I don't trust you!_ Thanks to you we're only a little under 25 _men!_ Thanks to you our race is doomed!" His voice was hoarse and pained. "You killed the last of our females! You killed my _wife!_ She was the last hope we had and thanks to you she's gone!" He pressed the gun against Lena's brow. "So perhaps I should return the favor."

"You think it's the same thing?" Red scoffed. He hated himself for this, and he was sure Lena would hate him too. "She means nothing to me. There are lots of females back on Irk that are even prettier and _taller_. You can shoot her for all I care." He tried to avert his gaze from Lena, unable to look at her in the eye and see the pain.

On the bright side, Iraa seemed to be buying it judging by how he was almost hyperventilating from the frustration. "We got your black beast. I doubt you'd be willing to part with it-"

"Please, Iraa, we _both_ know that's a lie. You're desperate for leverage, but the truth is you have _none_. So why don't you put the gun down and-"

"Ah, so you do worry about what happens to her!" Iraa laughed and tightened his grip on Lena's neck. "How about a trade? The ship in exchange for her life."

In a few brief seconds, Red's gaze met with Lena's. Her eyes were deeply hurt, but there was a fierce determination in them. He noticed one of her hands was silently moving towards the gun's trigger. Red felt his stomach drop.

Lena nodded solemnly. "For the Empire."

"LENA, NO!"

The sound of a plasma gun echoed throughout the building alongside a ballistic roar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *'cut off our heads and put them on pikes': reference to Vlad the Impaler, also known as Vlad Dracula or more popularly Count Dracula, who had the habit of impaling his enemies. Sobrekt are not as gruesome, though; they prefer to behead and use their enemies' heads as trophy decorations, kinda like we humans do with some animals.
> 
> *'Over the next twenty minutes, the hatchling had brought lots of useless items. Pieces of metal, glasses, sponges, dining utensils and even a piece of underwear belonging to any of the Hothians': This is directly taken from Guardians of the Galaxy 2, particularly the scene where Rocket and Yondu are taken captive and try to get Groot to bring a key (or weapon, I don't exactly remember) but he brings useless stuff instead.
> 
> Next Chapter: As the group finally makes it off the planet, both parties finally come to an understanding as they prepare to part ways.


	19. The Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The penultimate chapter, everyone! Just one more and we're done!

Everything was a blur. She couldn't clearly see anything, only shadows. Something was definitely going on, however. She thought she heard silent screaming, plus the ground was shaking every few seconds. Was it an earthquake? She couldn't really tell.

There was this shadow above her, speaking in whispers and pressing something against her shoulder. Speaking of which, it felt wet and sticky, as if something was pouring out of it. It was uncomfortable. This shape looked familiar, but she couldn't remember. Who was he? Why was he crying? Perhaps she'd ask later. Right now all she wanted was to sleep.

Red could have sworn history had just repeated itself. Just instead of Miyuki being devoured alive by the blob creature, he saw Lena shoot herself in the shoulder with Iraa's gun and fall to the floor limply. What both cases had in common was that he was helpless. Completely and _utterly_ helpless, unable to stop it from happening.

All his attention focused solely on Lena even as chaos erupted around him. He went straight to her side even as Zim's maniacal laughter broke through the air and a whole pack of mendigoes broke through the walls and into the hangar, roaring and devouring whatever was in front of them, no matter if it was a Hothian or Skoodge or Larb. Even as Fury came upon Iraa and tore at his neck with his long claws, drowning the agonizing scream in his shredded throat.

"Lena, can you hear me?! It's me, it's Red!" He cried, shaking her frantically while pressing his own hand against the wound. "Don't close your eyes, Lena! Please don't!"

Her antenna twitched. Her lovely cyan eyes stared up at him, but their previous shine was gone. They looked confused and empty. Trails of pink blood ran down her lower lip and out of her mouth.

"All fear the almighty Zim!"

"What on Irk are those things?!"

"Mastah, can we keep them?"

"This is so good, a mutant wendigo! Hey, alien-scum, out of the way, you're blocking the camera!"

"Everyone, get on the ship, NOW!"

Red didn't need to ask twice. He took Lena in his arms and carried her into the lounge, followed soon by the rest of the Invaders, Zim, and Dib. The ship momentarily shook as it started the lift-off, almost sending him off balance. "Lizards, Lena is hurt! Which way is the infirmary?!"

"Follow me…" Foxtrot managed to get on his feet and led him into the mini-elevator that took them to the Ibris's main corridor and from there walked towards the infirmary. Blue was curled up on top of one of the tables, and Ilk was snuggled against him, both seemingly asleep and wearing oxygen masks.

Red would have thrown a fit upon finding them like that, but instead placed Lena unto the other metal table, where her wounds were scanned by the Ibris's AI. Without her _PAK_ properly working the wound wouldn't heal on its own and it seemed like she had already lost lots of blood.

"Diagnostic?" Foxtrot asked.

" _ **Severe plasma burns on the outer skin, and it went all the way inside. No internal organs were damaged, but she lost too much blood.**_ "

"What can we do about it?!" Red jumped and looked down. Zim, Skoodge, and Bob had followed them here? Guess they really cared about Lena. Maybe they also wanted to check up on Ilk.

" _ **She needs a blood transfusion. Before you ask what that is, it means we need someone to donate blood to put into her-**_ " The ship shook again. " _ **Sorry, turbulence.**_ " Red couldn't help but feel a bit offended. They might not use those healing methods anymore, but that doesn't mean Irkens didn't know what a simple blood transfusion was, right?

Bob and Skoodge tore part of their uniforms. "Just leave us enough to make it back home!" The latter said.

" _ **It's not that simple. She has a very rare blood type, Positive ZK. I don't know much about Irken blood types, so I'm not sure about how rare it is among your species, but the point is the donor has to be of the same blood type or her body might reject it**_."

"Then use mine!" Red cried, holding out his arm. "I'm Positive ZK, I'm compatible!" He ignored the shocked glances from the trio of smaller ones. "What are you three looking at?! Off with you!"

" _ **Actually you might want to keep them around. The Irken hatchling needs a transfusion too.**_ "

"What?!"

" _ **From the result of her scans, I can tell she had a big injury and you forced her body to regenerate the missing flesh and tissue through a means other than the reggel, not to mention she also lost a lot of blood. This, plus the lack of clean air, caused her to weaken considerably; she doesn't have enough blood in her body to carry the oxygen I tried to give her.**_ "

Damn it. "I'm her father, can you give her my blood?!"

" _ **What part of needing to be the same blood type didn't you understand? Hers is a bit more common, negative Z, but-**_ "

Suddenly Zim jumped unto the table, standing on top of Blue's head, and pulling his sleeve up. "I'm negative Z! Use the blood of Zim to save the Ilk-smeet!"

Red went pale. Oh, no! No, no, no! There was no way he'd contaminate Ilk's pureblood with Zim's defective DNA, desperate as he might be. He turned to the other two smaller ones, who stared at Zim in awe. "You two! What's your blood type?!"

"Positive BK."

"Negative D."

Flirk it! "Then go take blood samples from the others-!"

" _ **There's no time for that, Irken, she needs the oxygen**_ **and** _**the blood**_ **now**!"

Red bit his lip. Whatever did he do to deserve this?! He glanced at Ilk, then at Zim. Finally, he sighed gravely. "Fine, just do it quickly!" He glared at Skoodge and Bob. "Okay, _now_ off with you!"

Foxtrot shifted and tapped his claw. "I'm... going to make sure the ship is working at its optimum efficiency."

" _ **You know I can hear you, don't you?**_ "

"Just don't touch anything, Irken, okay?"

With that Foxtrot stalked out of the infirmary, followed by Bob and Skoodge. " _ **Okay, that was weird.**_ "

"No one asked your opinion."

" _ **You should be nicer, considering I'm the one who's about to put a needle in your arm**_."

Red sighed. "Just hurry before she loses any more blood!" He stretched out his arm again just as a long robotic arm with a syringe was lowered down. Zim similarly gulped as another needle was lowered to his own arm, but was doing his best to keep a confident face.

_Hang on, girls._

* * *

"For the ancestors' sake, what now?!"

The emergency lights bathed everything in a bright orange shade, accompanied by a loud siren. Those who could move made their way to the bridge. Masouri and Foxtrot, who caught up from the infirmary, stubbornly refused any help to get there, instead leaning unto the walls to keep themselves on their feet. On the other hand, Tallest Purple had to lean unto both Larb and Stink to properly move with his injured leg. Getting off the goddamn planet was the priority.

The consoles were beeping and a few screens were flashing with sobrekt characters. Purple had a bad feeling about them. Of all the 600 written languages downloaded into his _PAK_ , Sobrekt was not amongst them. The glass, however, was cloudy because of the cold atmosphere the higher the _Ibris_ flew. "Status report!" he cried.

" _ **Looks like this planet is giving us a parting gift: there's a third-category blizzard outside, limiting visibility, plus there seems to be some… extra weight.**_ "

Purple furrowed his brow. Extra weight? "Put on the camera feed in the cargo hold." Nothing.

"Do as he says, computer," Foxtrot ordered.

" _ **Okay, who are you and what did you do with Foxtrot?**_ "

"Computer!"

The cloudy screen was replaced by the image of one of the security cameras in the cargo hold. They saw none other than _Fury_ and GIR playing cards with the pack of mendigoes. Judging by the scowl on the beasts' faces and the innocent grin on GIR's face, the latter was probably winning.

"What the-? How the Irk did those things get in here?!"

Foxtrot and Masouri looked like they were about to cry. "That robot would make such a good indokani…" the latter whispered.

"Okay, you two, get back on track! Computer, what options do you suggest?"

" _ **I'd recommend landing and waiting till it passes, but I'm not sure for how long the coating on the power core will last.**_ "

"The other one?"

" _ **We try and leave the atmosphere blindly. I'd have no problem with that if it weren't for the freezing cold damaging the engine plus the electromagnetic waves coming from the sun, which could cause a malfunction even with the Hothian metal.**_ "

Purple turned to Masouri. "Lizard, would you mind if I took charge from here?"

Masouri looked so sick he didn't really seem to mind he did. "Whatever, Your Tallest. Computer, do as he says, and be sure to translate the writing." How did he know he couldn't read sobrekt?! This was embarrassing.

That embarrassing moment aside, Purple barked orders at the Invaders to take positions around the console while the Dib-hyooman was put in charge of the systems. He might be inferior, but he certainly was good with alien technology. The red lights subsided for the time being, but the ship would tremble and shake every now and then. The indokuro hatchling lost his footing a few times and ended up clinging to Purple's leg, inadvertently tearing part of his robe with his sharp claws. The personality interface was surprisingly helpful by translating all characters into Irken letters despite its often snarky comments.

"Stink, prepare the hyperdrive and locate the coordinates of the _Massive_ 's current position. Tenn, keep an eye on the systems to make sure they are in top form! Big-headed kid, make sure we don't blow up!"

"Yes, My Tallest!"

"Would it kill you to say please?! And my head is not big!"

" _ **Going through the stratosphere!**_ "

"How long will that take?! I want to get off this rock ASAP!"

" _ **Just a little longer.**_ "

Another violent temblor. The window was almost frozen by then. Bob was knocked backward and fell unto Foxtrot, sending both against the wall. Purple would have laughed, but his gaze was locked unto the glass. He might be lacking in certain areas Red was an expert at, but he had been an expert pilot, the best of his generation back on the day. It was perhaps the only skill he still kept in practice nowadays.

A few minutes later the clouds were replaced with the dark, starry vacuum of space. "Are the coordinates ready?!"

"Yes, My Tallest! The _Massive_ is located near _Foodcourtia_!"

How blissfully convenient. "Set those coordinates and enter hyperspace!" In a few seconds, the blackness of space momentarily became long streams of light as the _Ibris_ went into light speed, leaving the doomed planet behind.

" _ **Systems coming back online.**_ "

The Irkens (and Dib) cheered happily. Even Masouri joined in in spite of his current condition, resulting in him collapsing prematurely. Purple sighed in deep relief. "And the long-distance communications?"

" _ **That too.**_ "

"Should I hail the _Massive_ , my Tallest?"

Purple glanced down at the hatchling, who was purring against his injured leg, then at Masouri and Foxtrot's sleeping forms. The Sobrekt were vulnerable and they had them at their mercy. It'd be like taking a piece of candy from a smeet, and it would be a nice way to make them pay for all the stuff he went through these days. After a long moment of silence, he said. "Nah, I think they can survive without me for a little bit longer. Besides, right now all I want is to have a snack as it should be." Purple grinned. "In fact, I'm in such a good mood that when we get to Foodcourtia you can _all_ have snacks on Bob's treat. Now go bring me some proper food before I change my mind."

Bob muttered under Foxtrot's weight as he watched his fellow Irkens dash for the kitchen.

* * *

Blood donation was perhaps the most bizarre process he had gone through. Maybe because he had never taken part in one before or because Irkens were far beyond this rudimentary practice. Not to mention he was the Almighty Tallest, there was no way his precious blood would be wasted on a shorter Irken. And yet here he was, watching his pink blood flow through a thin, long tube and into Lena's arm. To make things worse, Ilk was going through a similar process with Zim, _Zim_ of all fucking people, as the donor.

He was certain he'd _never_ hear the end of it from Pur when he found out. But frankly, right now he didn't care. All he wanted was to make sure both his girls would survive. He still had to repay Lena for her kindness and patience, and what a better way to do that than save her life? She had done so many times for him and Ilk already, after all.

" _ **I think you'll want to know we've entered hyperspace.**_ "

Red sighed in deep relief. Thank Irk. "Destination?"

" _ **Foodcourtia. Your Armada seems to have gathered there. The other Irken about your height decided not to call them yet.**_ "

Zim almost went pale. "Do you think we could go somewhere else, computer? Zim is not very fond of _that_ place."

"How long till we get there?"

" _ **Half an hour.**_ "

Red looked at Lena's sedated face, then glanced at Ilk... "And how long till they…?"

" _ **Not long. Ten minutes, at best. You could go eat something meanwhile: no offense, but you look famished.**_ "

"Take that back, computer! Nobody insults my Almighty Tallest's superior body shape!"

Red ignored the following argument between Zim and the AI and kept his gaze on top of Lena. The wound had been stitched and gazed the old-fashioned way. It would leave a scar on her. Many males would find any mark on a female unappealing, but not him. Especially not on Lena. His eyes ran down her body and toward her delicately long, thin and exposed legs. His hand found its way to her face to stroke her cheek. It felt warmer than a few minutes ago.

She _really_ had an uncanny resemblance to Miyuki.

His growling stomach reminded him he hadn't had a decent meal these past days. "Zim, keep an eye on Ilk and Lena." Zim saluted with a goofy grin. With that taken care of, he made his way to the kitchen through directions given by the AI.

To his surprise he ran into none other than Captain himself: the Sobrekt looked like he was faring better, but he still looked exhausted. He was munching on a piece of dried meat of some sorts. "How are they?" He asked with visible concern.

"Didn't the nosy interface you have for an AI tell you?" Red muttered as he walked over to the famous Foodinator and made some doughnuts for himself.

" _ **I can hear you**_."

Captain chuckled. "Nah, it respects the confidentiality thing."

"They still haven't awoken, for your information, but they are recovering. I had to donate about half a liter of my precious blood, but for her frankly, I don't mind. The only problem is that my poor Ilk needed a transfusion too, and the only person here with her same blood type was _Zim_."

"And what's the problem?"

"Ilk's pure tallest DNA is ruined, _that_ 's the problem!"

The sobrekt rolled his eyes and took a sip of his hot _cocrok_. It felt _so_ good to have a hot drink after days of being in the bitter cold climate.

"Hey, Captain?"

"What is it?"

Red almost regretted calling him. His Irken pride was _actually_ screaming at him for what he was going to do, but he took a deep breath and pushed those thoughts away. He might be a jerk, but he wasn't ungrateful. "T-Thank… T-Sav…" his tongue knotted. Damn it.

"What?"

"Don't pressure me, lizard!" Finally, Red smacked himself. " _Thank you for saving my life!_ There, I said it! Happy?!" His cheeks felt hot. He was pretty certain he was blushing.

Captain only blinked. Seconds later he burst into laughter. "Haha-I wish I had a camera! Ha! Computer, did you… haha… did you record this?"

" _ **It's in the security feed**_."

"Hehe, wait until… hey, Irken, don't take it like that!" Red had gone straight to the coffee machine, punched the buttons, grabbed his drink and stomped his way towards the doorway. "Computer!" The door slammed closed.

"What? Are you going to make fun of me in private? Or are you going to turn our arguments into a reality show?" Red hissed without looking at Captain.

"You're going to tell me you haven't done the same thing on any of your subjects?"

"It's different!"

Captain shrugged. "If you say so," another sip of _cocrok_. "So, What are you going to do about the doc?"

Red perked up his antenna. "What do you mean?"

"Come on, Irken, it's pretty evident that you're head over heels for her! And it bothers you that she's still mad at you."

Oh, how he _hated_ when he did that. "I guess I'll just keep apologizing and try to convince her not to leave-"

"That's not going to work, Irken. I told you before, words mean nothing to a hurt woman, and if you try to outright _force_ her to forgive you it's going to push her further away."

Red crossed his arms. "What do you suggest, then?"

"Well, you can start by being honest with her and letting her express herself, women love that. Be yourself instead of trying to put the 'in better than you, deal with it' thing."

"That's the way I am."

" _ **I'd recommend giving her the severed head of a creature you hunted by yourself.**_ "

Red frowned at the ceiling. "Who invited _you_ to this conversation?!"

"I don't think that will work on a female Irken, computer, but thanks." Captain said.

" _ **Other much more common… presents include a bunch of flowers and a box of candy, those are very effective to appeal to a female.**_ "

"How is giving her a bunch of dead reproductive plant organs going to help me?"

"It's not the gift itself, irken, it's the intention behind it. Besides, remember what I said about the armored stekogs; be perseverant even if she sends you down a tube at first."

"Down a tube?"

"You _really_ need to get out more."

There was a knock on the door as a nasal voice yelled at the computer to open up. The AI complied. Tenn, Larb, and Stink walked in and saluted when they noted Red was there. "How's everything going up there?"

"Everything's under control, My Tallest. Tallest Purple asked that we get him some celebratory snacks while we get to Foodcourtia."

"Speaking of which," Red glared at Captain. "Why did you have to take _that_ planet?!"

Captain blinked. "Well…" he laughed sheepishly. "Don't take it personally, but that was not precisely a strategic move. The _Shuryo_ targeted it because he knows it's Irk's largest snacking planet and that the _Massive_ constantly goes there for your snack refills every few moons."

"Well, thanks to that little move I had to break a promise to Ilk, which in turn led to this whole chain of events! If you had taken another planet, _none_ of this would have ever happened!"

" _ **Speaking of the Irken-hatchling, she's starting to awaken, in case you're interested.**_ "

Red instantly abandoned the argument and left the kitchen, coffee in one hand and bag of doughnuts in the other. As he went back into the infirmary, he found Ilk had sat up and was currently in a friendly conversation with Zim. "Ah, my Tallest! Zim was about to go fetch you! Ilk-smeet is awake thanks to my superior blood!"

Red's eye twitched momentarily. Wonderful. First life-indebted to Captain, and now to _Zim_! Grin and bear it for now, Red. Just a little longer and he'd send Zim back to the little mudball in the farthest reaches of the galaxy and forget this ever happened. Besides, he just mentioned he was _not_ ungrateful, even if the person that donated blood to Ilk was the last person he'd ever want. "Ilk, are you okay? How are you feeling?" He said, quickly changing the subject.

"I'm still a bit drowsy, but I'm okay, dad…" Ilk whispered.

Blue lifted his head. "So we're finally out?"

"Yes. In about half an hour we should be arriving at Foodcourtia." Red noted the kryvtor was still curled up around Ilk. "Would you mind moving? I don't like the proximity you currently have with my smeet."

"Dad…"

"No, no, that's okay." Blue carefully shifted and got off the table. "I was going to check up on _Fury_ , anyway."

"Zim will accompany you, Blue-beast. I have to make sure GIR is still in one piece."

"Hey, dad, do you mind if I go up and catch up with Uncle Pur?"

Red had the feeling they were actually looking for excuses to leave him alone with Lena so they'd have some time alone when she awoke. He was thankful for it. "It's okay, sweetheart. I think they're going to do a snacking party up there, and I'm pretty sure you won't want to miss it." he grinned.

"Snacks? Out of my way!"

Red couldn't help but chuckle fondly as Ilk jumped off the table and rushed out of the infirmary as if nothing had happened, followed by Blue and Zim. She was so much like him in so many things even if they did have their differences.

He took a seat next to Lena and silently ate, though he made sure to save some donuts for her. He had the feeling she'd be hungry when she woke up. Now that she was out of danger she looked even more serene as she slept. Red found himself stroking her cheek again just to feel the warmth. As he did so he felt a strange sensation in his squeedly spooch his _PAK_ could not get rid of; it wasn't unpleasant, on the contrary, it was akin to the fluttering parasites inside one's stomach thing…

Love is a… debated topic for the Irkens. There weren't exactly laws against it, but it was considered a distraction and many abandoned the practice in favor of focusing solely on serving the Empire. Plus love could be used against people, as Red had learned as he used the sentiment against the conquered species or those who crossed him, threatening to take what they loved the most away should they not comply. Resuming, most Irkens thought love made you weak.

Red used to have that mentality on his elite days, but then when he least expected it the sentiment struck him out of the blue as he found himself falling in love with Miyuki. Then when he lost her he felt so empty and hurt he silently vowed he'd never fall for it again, not wanting to go through the same pain _ever_ again. But it seemed as if the universe had a sort of conspiracy against him. Years later Ilk came to his life, and he found himself with a different, but equally strong, form of love. And now Lena, who not only reminded him of Miyuki but who also filled that empty, painful hole her death left him.

No point in denying the obvious. He loved her. He loved Lena.

Unknowingly, Red had leaned in closer to her, bringing his face close to her. His hand was tenderly stroking her cheek as one of his antennae tentatively stretched forward towards hers just as his forehead pressed against hers...

* * *

It was so quiet. Well, almost. There was the familiar beeping sound she'd heard thousands of times in an infirmary or a clinic. The unmistakable sound of a machine signaling vital signs. Where was she? Ouch. Her shoulder was aching and her legs were cold. Why were they cold?

Then she felt something different. A tingling, pleasant sensation in one of her antenna. Who was touching it? Reluctantly, she started opening her eyes only to quickly regret it as she was momentarily blinded by bright light. In spite of all, she managed to see a familiar shadow on top of her. It took her a few more seconds for her ocular orbs to adjust to the brightness. She had to blink a few more times to get a better look. "My Tallest…?"

"Lena! Are you okay? How are you feeling?"

Lena was about to respond when she noted he was literally on top of her, causing her to blush deeply. Damn it. "Umm… Well, I'd feel better if you weren't so close to my face…"

"Oh." He seemed to realize what she meant and pulled back. "Sorry."

"What happened-ouch!" Lena brought her hand to her shoulder.

"Try not to move much, the stitches on your shoulder are still fresh."

"Stitches..? My shoulder…?" Wait, it was all coming back. Iraa holding her as a hostage, then she pulled the trigger on his gun herself so he'd lose the only leverage he had, everything after that was a blur. "Where are we?"

"On the _Ibris_ , on our way to Foodcourtia," Red said with notable relief. "Hopefully we can get a _decent_ meal for once after having had to rely on meat for days."

"So it's over?"

"Yeah."

Lena noticed part of Red's arm had been bandaged. "What happened to your arm?"

"That…" He rubbed the bandages. "You lost lots of blood. You needed a transfusion, but you have a very rare blood type… Which is coincidentally the same as mine."

Lena stared at him agape. Had he…? Did this mean he had…? Sharing a snack with her was one thing, but sharing his _blood_? And to save her life nonetheless. "M-My Tallest, I don't know what to say…"

"Then don't. Let me…" he sighed. "We need to talk, Lena."

Oh, right. She was supposed to be mad at him. But he had saved her life by sharing his _blood_ , which might be worth millions of monies. The least she could do was listening to what he had to say. "Okay." She said.

"Want a doughnut?" Red awkwardly held out the donuts he had saved for her. He momentarily felt like an idiot, but she silently accepted the bag. Okay, remember what Captain said, be yourself. He took a deep breath. "Lena, I… I know you probably don't believe me when I tell you how sorry I am, but it's the truth. I didn't mean what I said back there, I was upset and I took it out on you…" another sigh. "I don't blame you for hating me right now…"

"I don't hate you, My Tallest," Lena said, putting the remaining donuts aside. She averted her gaze uncomfortably upon remembering the harsh words. "I'm just very hurt and disappointed in you. I was just trying to get you to calm down because you were not thinking clearly and I was afraid you'd start a fight with Blue in your injured state. You broke your hand when you tried to punch Captain, what do you think would have happened if you picked a fight with a kryvtor?"

"And regarding Ilk, I was worried because I _care_ about her, not only as a medic but also as a friend. She needed somebody to hear her out because she didn't feel she could open up to you, she was afraid of your reaction," Lena frowned, "And I have to say she was _right_."

"I know," Red sighed sadly, averting his gaze in shame. "At least I do now," with notable courage he met Lena's gaze again. "Lena… The one thing I meant was when I said I wanted _you_ with me. And not only as a doctor, but I also want you as my life-partner. I..." He gently lifted a hand before Lena could speak. "Please let me finish. Ever since you arrived you started filling an emptiness inside of me I didn't know I had ever since… Ever since I lost someone dear to me… "

"Tallest Miyuki, right?"

"What?"

"When the mendigo injured you and you went delirious, you called me 'Miyuki'."

He did? Oh, shit. How embarrassing. Red bit his lip. "Y-Yeah. Tallest Miyuki and I were _very_ close back before she…" He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. "I do admit, the first time I saw you, you reminded me of her…" He was getting off track. "Lena, I know I hurt you, and I'm aware simple words might not be enough to prove to you that I'm being honest. But if you'd give me a chance, I'd like to show you how much you mean to me… How much I love you, Lena. That's why I'm asking you… _begging_ you, please don't leave the _Massive_. Don't leave _me_." Tentatively he held her hands. "You're not just a lowly medical drone, Lena. You're even more than that."

Lena stared at him in utter shock. Was this a dream? Was she still unconscious? Or hallucinating? It couldn't be… He couldn't be saying… But his eyes, those pleading eyes, said otherwise. She had seen a fire behind those crimson orbs, a fire that attracted her like a moth being attracted by light. Yet she had also witnessed a great capability of tenderness and concern.

To Red's irritation, at that moment the ship cut him off. " _ **How very cute.**_ "

"Don't you have anything better to do?!"

" _ **Just wanted to let you know the rest have decided to throw a sort of party in the bridge, just in case you're interesting. Oh, a message from Tallest Purple: we got cinnamon rolls**_."

* * *

Given the jolly atmosphere, it was hard to believe that the two groups in the bridge had been at each other's throats a few days ago. Everybody was deep in conversations, snacking or simply lounging around. Red, in particular, was enjoying a good batch of freshly-baked cinnamon rolls straight from the Foodinator. It felt so good to have actual snacks!

"So that thing imprinted on _him_?" Captain glanced at Purple in disbelief.

"Sad but true," Foxtrot shrugged.

"Can't we do something about it?"

"Unfortunately, once an indokuro bonds with the first thing it sees, it's for life." Blue tossed a dry piece of meat towards _Fury_.

Foxtrot chuckled. "The committee is _so_ going to like this."

Meanwhile, the hatchling was confusedly looking around at the Irkens as they tried to give him a name. Clearly, he had no idea of what they were doing other than parroting different words he did not understand. Ilk couldn't blame them, though, so far all their ideas consisted of snack names before switching with something more fitting, such as _Ripper_ or _Fang_ , but he merely lay his head down on uncle Pur's foot and fell asleep.

"How about _Fido?_ "

"That's a dog name."

" _Deathkiller_!"

"Or you could name him Zim!" Zim grinned, ignoring the annoyed glances he received in return.

"Terrible idea," Dib muttered.

"SILENCE!"

"And here I thought Red and Captain were like an old couple…" Purple muttered, taking a bite of his cinnamon roll.

"They're the bestest of friends!"

Both Zim and Dib glared at GIR and yelled simultaneously. "He's _not_ my friend!" They returned the glares at each other.

"How dare you copy Zim?!"

"I didn't copy you, you are the one who copied me!"

"You're lying!"

Ilk quickly changed the topic. "So, how do we know the hatchling has 'picked' a name?"

"He will look at the person who named him and respond to it afterward."

"How long until we get to Foodcourtia?"

"Computer-"

" _ **We should be coming out of hyperspace in three, two, one-**_ " A sudden temblor sent whoever wasn't sitting to the ground just as the _Ibris_ left hyperspace.

"What on Irk?!"

"Err… My Tallest, you'll want to see this."

The space around Foodcourtia was an authentic battlefield. Ships from both the Irken and Sobrekt armadas flew by shooting pink and green lasers. Both the _Massive_ and the _Tyrannus_ were smoking. Red and Purple stared at the scene agape while Captain smacked his forehead, cursing in sobrekt.

"How about we call them before there aren't any armadas left?"

"Captain, for the first time we agree on something."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: The Sobrekt and the Irkens part ways, not without solving their personal issues.


	20. Epilogue

"What do you think they are talking about?"

Red ignored his co-Tallest and continued to pace outside the _Tyrannus_ 's bridge, whose doors had been closed shut, so he couldn't know what was going on inside. He felt uncomfortable in an alien ship, but there was _no_ way he'd allow the lizards into the _Massive_ to contaminate it with their alien germs. He was starting to regret it, though, especially with the Sobrekt guards outside the doors, staring at him warily.

"Chill out, she'll be fine," Foxtrot assured the two Tallests. "The _Shuryo_ might not seem like it, but he is pretty open-minded."

"No offense, but he really should fire his decorator. I mean, hanging heads don't give exactly give a good impression." Purple commented.

"It was nice on your part to let her talk with the _Shuryo_ alone, by the way."

Red smiled. "She could handle a pack of sobrekt, a cannibalistic carnivore, a bunch of psychopath aliens _and_ Zim. I think she can handle an old crocodile."

Purple narrowed his eyes. "Okay, who are you and what did you do with Red?"

"What's a crocodile?" Masouri inquired.

At last, the doors opened. Red whipped his head around just in time as Ilk and Captain walked out. The former was rubbing her arm. "So?" Purple got ahead of him, much to his chagrin.

"The _Shuryo_ let me go free in exchange of some DNA," Ilk explained. "They only need the flower's cells in my blood to create another one from scratch."

"They can do _that_?"

"We could bring back an extinct species if we wanted ***** ," Masouri said proudly.

Red took it from there before Purple said something stupid. "What about the… war? After this, think we're good, or…? If we aren't, could you at least give us Foodcourtia back?"

"We _are_ still pretty crossed at you for the theft, but after hearing all that happened the _Shuryo_ was willing to… negotiate." Captain patted Ilk's head. "She handled it pretty well."

"The _Shuryo_ is willing to hand Foodcourtia, Agricultia and half of the planets they took back to Irken control as compensation for what I went through. However, they wish to keep the Conveyor Belt Planet and Zootopia ***** ; both planets will be open for us, but are to be considered Sobrekt territory from now on." Ilk explained.

"Why the Conveyor Belt Planet? Zootopia, I understand, but the Conveyor Belt…?"

"Let's say we owed a favor to a Screwhead…" Captain said sheepishly.

Red and Purple exchanged looks.

"Sounds fine to me."

"We can sleep at night without those two. Now would you mind taking us back to the _Massive_? There's a mountain of snacks with my name on it."

The Irkens were led back into the _Ibris_ , which flew out of the _Tyrannus_ 's hangar and towards the _Massive_. The Irken flagship had stationed on the other side of _Foodcourtia_ alongside the Armada, so the flight took a while. Blue found Ilk on the lounge, watching as the yet-unnamed indokuro hatchling tried to get _Fury_ to play with him, but the older indokuro didn't move from his spot.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just wondering how to tell Uncle Pur that we'll have to leave the hatchling behind. He got attached to it."

"No offense, but from what I've seen I got the feeling he'll forget about it by tomorrow."

"Yeah, Uncle Pur has a short attention lapse."

Blue's talon claw started tapping on the ground. "So I guess this is goodbye, then?" he asked.

"For now, it is…" Ilk sighed. "Hey, Blue, about what happened…"

"It's okay. I understand… It was a bit selfish of me to pressure you like that. You're still young and-"

"I wasn't going to say that, actually," Ilk felt a bit nervous when he looked at her in confusion. "True, I'm a smeet and not mature enough to take such a decision, not to mention that in reality we barely know each other, but… It doesn't mean we can't get to know each other better." Ilk smiled. "You're a nice person, Blue, even if a bit… extremist at times."

"But you're going to the Academy, right?"

"Well, there's still Spacebook. Besides, knowing dad he'll do everything in his power to make sure I get free days to visit him."

Blue's crest bristled. "Well… I'd have to learn how to use Spacebook first…"

"You _don't_ have one?"

"What? We barely have time for that, plus I'm not precisely social…" Both laughed a bit. "Oh, well, Masouri has one, so I guess he can help me open one if only to keep in touch with you."

At that moment the _Ibris_ came to a stop. " **Ladies and Gentleman, we've arrived at our destination. If you'd be so kind as to watch your step as you get off, the crew of the** _ **Ibris**_ **is not responsible for any items you forget or for you breaking a leg on your way out. Thanks for choosing to fly in _IBRIS_ Airlines, have a good day!** "

"Was that Masouri or the computer?"

"It's hard to tell, considering that since Masouri downloaded _his_ personally they're practically one and the same thing"

" **I heard that**."

Both Blue and Ilk laughed again just as Red, Purple, and Captain walked out of the elevator doors. The hatchling chirped in delight and ran towards Purple, rubbing against his robe with a content purr.

"Aww, here you are, little guy! I know just the perfect place for you to sleep in!"

Red frowned. "That thing is _not_ going to sleep in your bed."

"Aww, but look at him! He's a cutie!"

Captain and Ilk exchanged a knowing glance. Captain shrugged. Blue read their expressions. "It will only last for about two months. Indokuros have a fast growth spurt."

"Then we can teach him cool stuff, right?"

"You can start teaching him from now if you wish."

"Can I teach him to fetch snacks?"

"I highly doubt the productivity of that, but yes you can," Captain muttered. The platform lowered unto the _Massive_ 's hangar. "Well, this is it, Irken." He gave Red a strong pat on the back, almost knocking him off his feet. "See ya later."

Red frowned at him, rubbing his back. "What makes you think we'll see each other again?"

"Ah, believe me, I wish it wasn't the case, but by now it's evident that the universe conspires against us to make sure we re-encounter each other endlessly in a cycle of never-ending annoyance."

Red blinked. "That was _deep_ , Captain. I didn't think you'd have a knack in poetry."

 _Fury_ rubbed his head against Ilk's body with a gentle purr. Ilk smiled lightly and patted his neck. "I'm going to miss you too, _Fury_."

"Let's go, Ilk. It's time."

The Irkens(and the mini- _Fury_ hatchling) walked down the _Ibris_ 's stairs and into the _Massive_ 's hangar. Ilk exchanged one last glance with Blue before the platform closed and the _Ibris_ flew away.

* * *

"My Tallest, you're just in time! The Sobrekt are retreating from Foodcourtia!" Invader Larb was pointing at the monitor excitedly, where hundreds of Sobrekt aircraft were seen flying away from the snacking planet, following the _Tyrannus_ and other dreadnoughts and battleships away into hyperspace.

 _Wow, so they_ did _keep their part of the deal._ "Ilk here did a good job negotiating with the lizards." Red placed his hand on his daughter's shoulder, causing her to blush.

"Hey, where is Zim?"

"Oh, he took a zhook cruiser and left with the Dib-hyooman," Skoodge explained. "Or rather, the Dib-hyooman snuck into the ship when Zim tried to leave him behind as a 'present' for you, My Tallest."

Zim's gone? Just when they thought it couldn't get any better. Purple cried out. "Party!" One of the navigators pressed a button that sent confetti and streamers, both red and purple, raining down from the ceiling. Ilk rolled her eyes as the others, uncle Pur and her dad included, started to dance with the merry music.

"Hey, Tenn, where's Lena? She's missing all the fun!"

"She asked the Control Brains for an audience, My Tallest."

Red spat the soft drink in his mouth. "What?! Why didn't anyone tell me?!"

"You were still aboard the Sobrekt warship, My Tallest."

Red sped out of the bridge towards the Control Brains' chamber just in time to see Lena stepping out of it. "Lena!" he called out. "Lena, what are you…?"

"I thought about what you told me back on the ship…" Lena took a deep breath. "I cannot forgive you, My Tallest."

His squeedly-spooch sunk.

"At least, not right now. You were right, your words are not proof enough of your sincerity, especially from _you_. With all due respect, you and Tallest Purple are not precisely known for keeping promises. What assures me you're not toying with me again?"

"Oh…" Red looked down, flattening his antennae in sore disappointment. "I understand… I'll have a ship prepared for you…"

"I never said I was leaving."

His antennae perked up.

Lena's frown softened as she averted her gaze."You saved my life. You were willing to…" Lena didn't finish, but her gaze locked unto the bandages in his arm said everything. "I never imagined you'd be willing to give your Tallest blood to someone like me…"

"I just couldn't afford to lose you, I... " Red looked around to make sure they were alone. Then he unexpectedly grabbed her hands. "I love you, Lena."

"You do realize that it takes more than mere words to prove _that_ , don't you?"

"I'm willing to prove it to you even if it takes me a hundred years…"

Lena saw the unspoken question in his eyes. "I just spoke with the Control Brains about what happened. I hope you don't mind that I mentioned them about Ilk's… special quality. They asked me to tell you that they want to speak to you in private."

He had actually been expecting the Control Brains to call him sooner or later to _ask_ what had happened and why he and Purple were missing for so long, he had just hoped it would be put off until later. "I don't mind. Purple´s throwing a party in the bridge if you want to join in. It's not every day he's willing to share snacks with the crew."

"Should I save you some cinnamon rolls, Red?"

His eyes brightened when she called him by name again. "That would be nice, thank you very much." The euphoria only lasted for a few moments before he realized he still had to talk to the Control Brains. With a heavy sigh, he composed himself and went into the chambers.

Just like the last time, the supercomputers were whirring with uninterrupted activity. Red stepped onto the platform. "Doctor Lena said you wanted to see me?" he asked with every bit of calm he could muster.

" **INDEED. AFTER ANALYZING HER** _ **PAK**_ **DATA AND HEARING HER EXPLANATION AS TO THE… EVENTS THAT LED TO YOUR DISAPPEARANCE, WE'VE DECIDED TO CHECK** _ **YOUR**_ **DATA TO MAKE SURE SHE WAS TELLING THE TRUTH** _._ "

Without warning two wires connected to his _PAK_. Red winced as they searched through the memories stored and recorded by his PAK; it was an uncomfortable process, but it was better than taking them directly from the brain. After what seemed an eternity (fifteen seconds) the cables disconnected.

" **THE EVENTS RECORDED IN YOUR** _ **PAK**_ **MATCH WITH THOSE FROM IRKEN MEDIC LENA.** "

"Well, sirs, if that's all…"

" **IT ISN'T,** " their eyes narrowed. " **WE NOTED A PARTICULAR… ARGUMENT BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR CHILD REGARDING HER CAREER PATH.** "

Shoot. "I _was_ going to mention that later…" Red chuckled sheepishly. "I think I got a little ahead of myself."

" **YOU CAN SAVE THE EXPLANATION. WE SAW THE FOLLOWING CONVERSATION BETWEEN YOU IN WHICH YOU ADMITTED YOUR REASONS FOR WANTING HER TO BECOME AN INVADER**."

First Captain, now the Control Brains. He _really_ hated when they did that. "Sirs, with all due respect, my Ilk is not a defect." He told them firmly. "True, she is different by Irken standards, both physically and emotionally. She lacks the drive to conquer and the superiority complex that characterizes our people. She… She actually _likes_ Zim of all Irkens, but she is _not_ a defect.

"Even if she's not Invader material, she excels at everything else. If you saw through my memories, then you must have seen that she _alone_ handled the final negotiation with the Sobrekt leader. And the result? They returned half of the planets they had captured and ended the war. All thanks to _her_. Not only that, but she possesses the gene responsible for Sobrekt regeneration and healing, one of the many things the Empire has sought ever since the reign of Tallest Brud! Can you imagine it? All smeets made from her DNA would possess that same ability, which would save us the need to deactivate soldiers who lose limbs, which in turn would save us troop losses!"

"That's why I ask of you, sirs… Please consider assigning Ilk to something else."

The Control Brains said nothing. The lights were flickering, meaning they were processing what he just told him and debating it amongst themselves for the next course of action.

Red froze as their eyes glowed again. " **WE HAVE COME TO A DECISION**."

* * *

" _Cheesecake_! Here, _Cheesecake_!"

The newly-baptized hatchling chirped in delight and ran towards Ilk as she held a piece of doughnut above him. He only needed to jump to snatch it from her hand.

"Damn you, Zim!"

Ilk rolled her eyes and looked up at her pouting uncle. The party was still going on, but his merry mood was soured when Zim called to inform them he had arrived safe and sound back to Earth and said he'd enjoy a good slice of cheesecake to celebrate. Unfortunately, the hatchling reacted to the name of the dessert and picked it as its name. Uncle Pur tried to rename him, but it was too late.

"I wanted to name him _Snackie_!" he growled.

"It's not that bad, uncle Pur. You love that dessert, don't you?"

"Well, yeah. But really, for an _hybrekt_? It doesn't sound very menacing. It's as if Tallest Miyuki had given the _Massive_ a silly name like the _Nacho_ , or the _Flower_ , instead of the _Massive_! Nobody would take us seriously if that were the case!"

"Well, _Snackie_ isn't very threatening either."

"It's better than cheesecake!" The hatchling went back to Purple and rubbed its head against his robe. The Tallest sighed. "Oh, well, it could have been worse."

Ilk spotted a tall Irken clad in red coming back into the bridge and went to meet him. "Dad, where did you go? Lena barely managed to save the last cinnamon rolls before uncle Pur could eat them."

"We need to talk, Ilk. In private."

Oh, no. She knew those words. Dad led her outside the bridge into the corridor, where he ordered the guards on turn away so they'd be alone. "I talked to the Control Brains about your future."

Ilk's antenna perked up. "And…?"

"Well, they _were_ a bit put off with the unusual… situation at first, but," dad smiled. "They agreed to assign you to another career."

Ilk couldn't help it. She squealed in delight and jumped straight into her father's embrace, just like when she was a little smeet. "Thank you, daddy!"

Red chuckled fondly as he returned the embrace. Seconds later he pulled back slightly. "They did put a few conditions, though. First of all is that you are to donate some DNA samples to the smeeteries so that the smeets born from now on will have the regeneration gene."

"And the second?"

"Even if you don't take the Invader test, the Control Brain still expect you to receive a _PAK_ when you go to the Academy and eventually take the test to become one of the Irken Elite."

"I have no problem with that!"

"That's my smeet. And now that the issue is taken care of, I believe we have a pending meal on Foodcourtia, am I right?" Red chuckled as Ilk nodded eagerly and placed her down. "Just wait a minute: do you mind if I invite someone else?"

Ilk shook her head and watched as. Besides, she had an idea as to who he was going to invite.

When he walked into the bridge the party was _still_ going on. Purple seemed on a better mood since last time he walked in, especially since the little indokuro ( _Cheesecake_ , if he had heard correctly) was chomping on the camera the Dib-hyooman had been obsessed with. Oh, too bad they wouldn't get to see his face when he realized his 'evidence' was gone. "Hey, Pur, where is Lena?" he called out loudly over the music.

"She's taking a few snacks from Bobby, why?"

"I'm taking Ilk to Foodcourtia and I wanted to ask her if she wanted to come along."

"Would you mind bringing me some curly fries since you're going down?"

Red rolled his eyes and headed over to Lena. She was in a sort of friendly conversation with the service drone. "Lena?"

"Oh, Red. I was talking to Bobby about his spine. He's getting a hunched back from being in that position for so many hours."

Red couldn't really care less about Bob's spine, actually. "I wanted to ask you…" his tongue knotted. He knew what he wanted to say but the words wouldn't come out. "Well, you see…" The curiosity in those lovely eyes wasn't helping. "Ilk and I are… Um, we're going down to Foodcourtia, and… I wanted to ask you if…"

"He's asking you out on a date!"

"Purple-!" Red glared daggers at his co-Tallest. Purple merely snickered and slurped from his drink. Red turned back to Lena with his face almost matching his eyes. "Well, sort of… I mean, Ilk will be with us, so you could say it's more of a familiar get-together than anything."

Lena couldn't help it. She blushed and let out a small giggle. "You're not very good when it comes to courting, are you?"

"He _sucks_!"

" _Purple_!"

"Well, I wouldn't really mind accompanying you if Ilk doesn't mind either."

"She doesn't. We'd like you to join us."

Lena stared down at his outstretched hand, thoughtful, for a few seconds. Finally, she held out her hand to grab his, smiling. "I would love to."

Red returned the smile as they left the bridge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *We could bring back an extinct species if we wanted: Reference to Jurassic Park.
> 
> *Zootopia: Really, I don't need to explain this one XD. PD: It's an actual zoo of alien animals, not an anthropomorphic animal planet.
> 
> Last chapter, everyone! I want to thank all of you who followed me through this story! Don't worry, this is not the end perse. After all, there are some issues that are still to be solved as well as some introduced ideas that are still to be explored. Currently, I have a sequel in the planning stages, but I'll wait a while till I actually publish that one, since I've got other fics to work on.
> 
> See ya till next time!

**Author's Note:**

> Oh, my, looks like somebody has caught Red's eye. wonder what will happen next... XD.
> 
> Next chapter: Lena and Ilk get to know each other, while a threat from the outside prepares for their next move...


End file.
